(Yicai Global) Dec. 31 -- Huawei Technologies is expecting a big fall in revenue this year in the Chinese telecoms giant’s first decline in sales since 2002 as ongoing US trade bans not to mention the global chip shortage and recurring outbreaks of Covid-19 dampen output.

Revenue is likely to fall by 28.9 percent this year from last year to CNY634 billion (USD99.5 billion), the Shenzhen-based firm said today. Huawei did not provide profit data nor give any reasons for the decline.

Huawei’s carrier operations remained stable, its corporate business maintained steady growth and its end device business expanded into new industries, the firm’s Rotating Chairman Guo Ping said in his New Year’s message today. The company’s cooperation with customers and partners continues to deepen, its global business is running normally and the company’s overall operating conditions are in line with expectations.

Huawei was added to the US government’s so-called Entity List in May 2019 over alleged national security concerns, preventing it from accessing US software and hardware. The ban has had a huge impact on the company’s smartphone business, once its main source of income, forcing Huawei to sell off large parts of it and to diversify into other business streams.

Looking ahead, Huawei will respond rationally to external force majeure, Guo said. The company will remain focused on information and communications technology infrastructure, intelligent terminal fields and smart car solutions.

Huawei will shorten its management chain to maintain the advantages of a large platform but also to be able to quickly meet customer needs. It will build an ecosystem for cross-multi-device scenarios based on its Harmony operating system and emphasize open source and openness, he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor