Huawei’s consumer business sales exceeded a record $52 billion in 2018, shipped 208 million smartphones last year

On Thursday, Huawei said its consumer business sales exceeded a record $52 billion in 2018, on strong demand for its premium smartphones.

Huawei reported a 50% jump in consumer business revenue last year to in excess of $52 billion. It said it aimed to keep the momentum with the launch next month of a foldable smartphone powered by its new fifth-generation (5G) chipset.

The jump meant the consumer business accounted for 48% of total revenue, contributing more than Huawei’s business for telecoms network providers for the first time.

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“Even without the U.S. market we will be number one in the world,” Yu said, referring to Huawei’s smartphone division, which shipped 208 million handsets last year. “I believe at the earliest this year, and next year at the latest.”

The jump of around 50% in the technology giant’s consumer business revenue saw that unit replace its carrier business as its largest segment by sales, Richard Yu, the head of the consumer division, said in Beijing.

Worldwide smartphone shipments likely fell 3% last year, returning to low single-digit growth this year and through 2022, when 5G mobile network technology is likely to give the industry a boost, showed forecasts from consultancy IDC.

Huawei last month flagged that total revenue in 2018 rose 21% to $109 billion without providing a breakdown of segment performance.