Global mobile internet-focused ICT solutions provider ZTE Corporation has reported a 29.8% surge in first-half net profit, attributed to its mobile network and smartphone business, according to a statement issued by ZTE South Africa.

Net profit attributable to holders of ordinary shares jumped to RMB 2.29 billion in the first six months, according to results announced by the listed telecoms solutions provider.

Basic earnings per share increased to RMB 0.55 and first-half revenue increased 13.1% to RMB 54.01 billion.

"ZTE's R&D spending increased to RMB 6.68 billion in the first half, or 12.4% of revenue. This takes the company's R&D spending past RMB 10 billion in the past 12 months, as ZTE focuses on innovations in 5G, IoT and cloud computing to sharpen its overall competitiveness," read an excerpt from the statement.

According to ZTE it is further strengthening its investment in 5G technologies, including wireless and 5G bearer networks, within its carrier networks division, which accounts for 59.9% of revenue.

In June this year ZTE Corporation South Africa confirmed pre-5G deployments with China Mobile and SoftBank, with the company's Vice MD Julian Ramnarain reaffirming the focus on 5G as a key enabling technology in mainstreaming IoT.

In Wireless Networks, ZTE has deployed over 60 Pre5G networks as well as 240 SDN and NFV networks globally.

The company has forged extensive partnerships with telecoms operators from Germany, Spain, Japan, Russia, Thailand and China in the field of fixed and bearer networks.

Self-developed chip shipments

ZTE achieved a year-on-year growth of 41.7% in self-developed chip shipments in the first half of 2017. In this period the company's Pre5G multi-mode software baseband chips were shipped to top international operators, and the company's IoT chips have been put into interoperability tests with different vendors.

"ZTE takes the lead in applying VR broadcasting in large-scale social activities, and is the first to launch MaaP-based solutions in the industry. It completes the RCS interoperability tests with the three major telecoms operators in China, thereby speeding up the RCS commercial deployments in China. Also, the company launches uSmartAI, an intelligence robot solution,' the company stated.

In the Consumer division, ZTE posted growth in both operating revenue and gross profit. The company's handset sales channels cover over 160 countries and regions.

ZTE says it is ranked fourth in the US smartphone market and among the top five in countries including Australia, Germany, Canada and Spain.

The company's terminal STB shipment gained a year-on-year increase of 15% in first-half, exceeding the annual shipments in 2016.

According to ZTE the domestic Enterprise Business operations, established in 2017, will focus on rail transit deployment, financing and government businesses.

"It will keep the first place in the domestic rail transit integrated communication market," the company stated.

Liu Haishi, Chairman and CEO ZTE South Africa, says that "Looking forward, the company will be committed to becoming a pioneer in 5G technologies, taking the lead in standardisation, technical perspective and commercialisation. In future, the company will unswervingly strengthen its investment in two aspects - key technologies like 5G wireless and 5G bearer networks, and will focus on key markets and customers."

ITWeb Africa has reported that according to McKinsey & Company's Dance of the lions and dragons: How are Africa and China engaging, and how will the partnership evolve?, Chinese firms already handle 12% of Africa's industrial production, valued at US$500bn per year, and that these companies could reach revenues of US$440 billion by 2025 through aggressive expansion on the continent.