Xiaomi Revenue Surges 55% in Q1, Takes up Gap Left by Huawei

On Wednesday, Xiaomi reported first-quarter revenue growth of 55%. The Chinese smartphone maker finished above analyst expectations, as it nabbed market share from one-time leader Huawei.

Xiaomi on the Rise

The phonemaker's revenue rose to ¥76.88 billion ($12 billion) in the quarter ended March 31. This figure was up from  the last year's ¥49.70 billion. Interestingly, analysts expected a revenue of ¥74.5 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Also, the company outdid adjusted net profit estimates as well, getting ¥6.1 billion, versus estimates of ¥3.97 billion.

In China, the company saw its market share rise 75% Y-o-Y. It seems like Xiaomi kept gaining traction as Huawei pulled away from the market following US trade restrictions. These sanctions have severely limited Huawei's ability to get key components such as chipsets.

Smartphone sale revenue saw more than a two-third increase year-over-year, growing 69.8% to ¥51.5 billion. Also, its internet services registered growth as well, growing 11.4% Y-o-Y to ¥6.6 billion.

Xiaomi also announced earlier this quarter that it would formally begin producing electric cars, with a new division led by Xiaomi founder Lei Jun.

In further good news for the company, the US also removed the company from a blacklist that stopped US investors to have holdings in the company.

However, Xiaomi and other electronics brands remain hampered by the global chip shortage. Speaking on a call with investors, Xiaomi CFO Alain Lam said that the company's chip inventories remain at "healthy" levels. He added that the company did not expect major impact on its business this year. However, he said that the broader shortage may continue well into 2022.

Because of issues such as stockpiling, surging demand for personal computers during COVID-19, and factory incidents caused many hardware makers to scramble for semiconductors during late 2020.