Chinese telecommunications vendor ZTE has recorded a phenomenal financial result for 2017 which has seen its net profit increase by almost 300%. ZTE issued its earning guidance for the last twelve months which indicated a staggering 293% increase from 2016 which was based on a preliminary financial statement.
A representative for ZTE has attributed its increase in growth to robust investment in both its operator networks and consumer device divisions. The company’s net profit in 2017 was CNY4.55 billion ($722 million) and operating revenue also grew by 7.5% year-on-year to CNY108.8 billion.
In a statement the Chinese vendor confirmed that they had excluded the impact of the penalties it was issued with by the US government authorities over violating trade sanctions last year.
A ZTE spokesperson said, “Excluding the impact of penalty payments imposed by US government authorities, the company’s net cash flow from operating activities was CNY12.44 billion, representing an increase of approximately 136.6 per cent over the previous year.”
In March 2017, it was disclosed that ZTE had agreed on a settlement package with the US government in relation to trade sanction violations. It was reported at the time that the Chinese telecommunications colossus paid CNY6.8 billion in penalties for its actions.
Later that year, in October, ZTE reported a huge spike in net profit from January to the end of September and that success continued in Q4. ZTE announced last week its plans to raise CNY13 billion to further fund its efforts in 5G technology developments. It aims to raise the capital required through a share placement fund in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The company also said it will spend about CNY9.1 billion of the expected proceeds on “technology research and product development relating to 5G network evolution”, with the remainder allocated to replenishing working capital. ZTE also said it will spend a total of CNY42.9 billion on 5G over three years.
