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Huawei Posts Sharp Profit Fall in Year Without Phone Cash Cow

The Huawei Technologies Co. booth at Auto Shanghai.

The Huawei Technologies Co. booth at Auto Shanghai.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Huawei Technologies Co.’s net income fell about 40% in the first three quarters of this year as the Chinese telecom giant couldn’t revive its cash cow smartphone business and spent heavily on research and development.

The Shenzhen-based company, once the world’s biggest smartphone maker, generated 27.2 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) in net income between January and September with a profit margin of 6.1%, according to Bloomberg calculations. It marked a slump from 46.5 billion yuan net income in the same period a year ago, when Huawei reported a double-digit profit margin. Revenue for the September quarter rose 6% to 144.2 billion yuan, per Bloomberg calculations.