Huawei banks $1bn in 2008

Chinese communications vendor swells top and bottom line and targets further growth this year

Cause for celebration: Huawei saw revenue jump 43 per cent last year

Communications vendor Huawei enjoyed a splendid 2008 after banking more than $1bn in net profit off the back of a 40 per cent revenue spike.

Revenue for the year to 31 December jumped 43 per cent on 2007 to $18.33bn (£12.6bn). Net profit for 2007 stood at $957m but hit 10 figures last year, soaring 20 per cent to $1.15bn.

The ambitious Chinese vendor has been itching to make more of a splash in the European and US markets over the past few years. Eighteen months ago, it teamed with private equity house Bain Capital to bid for US rival 3Com, but national security concerns eventually thwarted the deal.

In a statement, Huawei's executive management team expressed their pleasure at the fact that three-quarters of their firm's sales now come from outside China. The statement added: "Our customers' success will continue to drive Huawei's growth as a leading global supplier. In 2009, we believe that Huawei will maintain our pace of steady growth and this will be driven mainly by 3G network deployments in emerging markets, including the Asia-Pacific region, and particularly in China.

"In North America and Europe, our consolidated partnership with leading operators will also generate new growth opportunities. Overall, the increasing recognition of Huawei's unique values will strengthen our strategic partnerships with leading operators and it will be a foundation for our future success."