Huawei Technologies’ profit rose for the fourth consecutive quarter, a sign the Chinese tech company is taking market share from Apple and other smartphone rivals. 

The Shenzhen-based company reported net profit of 19.6 billion yuan (S$3.68 billion) in the March quarter, up 564 per cent, according to a filing from Huawei’s holding company posted to the website of the National Interbank Funding Center in China. 

Sales in the first quarter rose 37 per cent to 178.5 billion yuan. The company did not provide a sales breakdown for various business segments in its filing. 

The phenomenal growth in earnings underscored Huawei’s resurgence in spite of US sanctions. The company’s smartphone shipments surged 70 per cent in the first quarter, according to research firm Counterpoint, after the company made an unexpected comeback last year with a new 5G phone powered by an advanced made-in-China 7-nanometer chip despite US sanctions.

As a stark contrast, Apple’s iPhone sales in China fell 19 per cent during the March quarter, Counterpoint estimated. 

Earlier this month, Huawei unveiled its new Pura 70 smartphone series with a slightly enhanced chip, showcasing its capability to sustain production of advanced semiconductors and ramp up pressure on Apple on its home turf. The Pura 70 series sold out within two days of their launch, according to market checks conducted by Jefferies analysts led by Edison Lee. 

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Huawei is also making progress on AI chips with its Ascend GPU. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has called the Chinese company a formidable rival. BLOOMBERG