(Yicai) Aug. 30 -- Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies reported its first-half revenue rose 34 percent from a year ago thanks to soaring smartphone sales and strong growth in its auto business.

Revenue was CNY417.5 billion (USD58.9 billion) in the six months ended June 30, the Shenzhen-based company announced yesterday. Based on the reported net profit margin of 13.2 percent, it can be calculated that its net profit jumped about 18 percent to CNY55.1 billion (UDS7.8 billion).

Huawei's net profit margin reached a record high of 15 percent last year, 5 percent in 2022, 9.8 percent in 2021, 9.2 percent in 2020, and 8.7 percent in 2019, showing that the company is moving toward normal operations since getting sanctioned by the United States.

"Our overall performance was in line with forecast," said Eric Xu, rotating chairman of Huawei. "Moving forward, we'll continue driving high quality across all business processes, optimizing our portfolio to enhance business resilience, and building thriving ecosystems."

Huawei's consumer, smart vehicles, and cloud businesses were its key pillars, according to data from analysts and partners. However, the company did not disclose its income from each segment as it did last year. 

Since releasing the Mate 60 series last August, Huawei's smartphone market share in China has rebounded. Its domestic phone shipments surged 55.2 percent to 22.2 million units in the first half from a year ago, data from market researcher Canalys showed. The firm ranked first with a market share of 17.5 percent, according to International Data Corporation.

Yinwang Intelligent Technology, Huawei's intelligent driving unit, reported a net profit of CNY2.2 billion (USD310.2 million) on revenue of CNY10.4 billion (USD1.5 billion), with the expected net profit attributable to the parent firm to reach CNY3.4 billion this year, according to a previous report released by Huawei's car-making partner Seres Group.

Sales of Aito electric vehicles, co-developed by Huawei and Seres, soared 680 percent to 181,000 units in the first six months from a year earlier. Sales via the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, Huawei's most comprehensive partnership model with carmakers, reached 194,000 units.

China's cloud infrastructure service market reached USD9.2 billion in the first quarter, according to data from Canalys. Huawei Cloud remained the second largest cloud service provider, with a 19 percent market share.

Huawei still faces the challenges posed by the complex external environment, a source from the company said, adding that the core of its future sustainable development lies in a more resilient supply chain, ensuring business continuity and product competitiveness.

According to an analyst, the Harmony operating system, artificial intelligence, and the automotive business's future development are critical.

Editor: Martin Kadiev