China’s Huawei says 1Q sales up 39%

In this March 29, 2019, file photo, Huawei’s mobile phones are displayed at a telecoms service shop in Hong Kong. Chinese tech giant Huawei said Monday, April 22, 2019, its revenue rose 39 percent over a year earlier in the latest quarter despite U.S. pressure on allies to shun its telecom and network technology as a security risk. AP FILE PHOTO

BEIJING — Chinese tech giant Huawei said Monday its revenue rose 39% over a year earlier in the latest quarter despite U.S. pressure on allies to shun its telecom technology as a security risk.

Huawei, the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies, on Monday reported revenue of 179.7 billion yuan ($26.8 billion) for the first three months of the year.

Washington’s pressure on allies to avoid Huawei, China’s first global tech brand, threatens to block access to Europe and other markets as carriers prepare to invest billions of dollars in next-generation technology.

The company denies U.S. accusations it facilitates Chinese spying.

Huawei, founded by a former Chinese military engineer in 1987, is privately held but reports financial results to try to defuse Western security concerns.

Huawei gave no quarterly earnings but said its profit margin was 8%. That would be about 14.4 billion yuan ($2.1 billion).

The revenue growth reported Monday was higher than the 19.5% gain reported earlier for 2018 annual revenue. The company earlier reported annual sales of 721.2 billion ($105.2 billion).