(Yicai Global) March 9 -- ZTE Corp. is planning a repurchase of shares to bolster its stock price, which has slumped by double digits in the past week, despite the Chinese telecoms equipment manufacturer posting its highest profit ever in 2021 due to increased market share in both the domestic and overseas markets.

ZTE is planning the buyback of shares, the Shenzhen-based firm said in its latest earnings report released yesterday. No details about the size or pricing of the stock repurchase were given.

The telecoms giant logged a 59.9 percent surge in net profit in 2021 from the year before to CNY6.8 billion (USD1.1 billion), a new high, it said. Revenue was up 12.8 percent to CNY114.5 billion (USD18.1 billion).

Yet ZTE’s share price [SHE:000063] was trading down 2.26 percent in Shenzhen at CNY25.06 (USD4) as of 1:30 China time today. The stock has slumped 13 percent in the past five trading days. Its Hong Kong stock [HKG:0763] was trading down 0.39 percent at HKD15.22 (USD2). The stock has dropped 17.7 percent over the last seven trading days.

“I have been holding the company’s shares for four years now and am still suffering a loss,” an investor told Yicai Global. “I don’t understand how.”

ZTE seized a 11 percent share of the telecoms infrastructure market in the third quarter last year, the most ever, the company said. And revenue from its consumer services jumped 59.2 percent year on year to CNY25.7 billion (USD4.1 billion), according to US market research firm Dell’Oro Group.

ZTE will continue to invest in core technologies such as chips, algorithms and network structures, the firm told Yicai Global. It will maintain its status in key technology sectors and continue to expand market share, especially in the information technology, digital energy and smart home sectors.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Kim Taylor