ZTE Doubled its Smartphone Sales in 2012

ZTE says that it has exceeded its own target by more than doubling shipments of smartphones in 2012. The strong growth in ZTE’s smartphone business helped offset decreasing sales of feature phone products.

The growth in smartphone sales also helped ZTE post a gross profit margin of 16.8% in its terminals division in 2012, an improvement of 1.6 percentage points compared to a year earlier.

The strong smartphone sales performance helped ZTE record RMB 1.87 billion of operating cash flow in 2012. ZTE also posted positive free cash flow and operating cash flow for the first time in three years.

“ZTE aspires to be the global leader in 4G, and shape the future of smart devices,” said ZTE EVP and Head of the Mobile Devices Division Mr. He Shiyou. “For ZTE’s terminals business, 2012 was a year of transition that brought increased scale, profitability, and a higher profile. The shift to higher value will continue in 2013.”

ZTE generated 15% of its smartphone revenue in 2012 from sales of mid to high-end devices in 2012, and Mr. He aims to grow the proportion to 25-30% this year.

“4G is key to ZTE’s future, and our capabilities in LTE give us a lot of confidence,” Mr. He added.