Huawei posts strong H1 revenue despite rising R&D spending

Huawei posted a strong first-half revenue on Monday, even as rising R&D expenditures weighed on profitability.

The Chinese technology giant reported revenue of 467.82 billion yuan ($69.6 billion) for the six months ended June 30, up 9.55 percent year on year. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 36.77 percent to 23.43 billion yuan, compared to 37.05 billion from a year earlier.

What grabbed more attention, however, was the company's relentless push on innovation. Huawei poured 121.38 billion yuan into research and development during the period — a record high for any first half. R&D spending jumped 25.2 percent from 96.95 billion a year ago, accounting for 25.94 percent of total revenue, up from about 22.7 percent in the same period last year.

The results underscore Huawei's strategic bet on long-term competitiveness amid intensifying global tech competition. The company has said it will continue to increase investment in connectivity, computing, cloud, devices, intelligent driving and artificial intelligence — embedding AI and security into every product and network.