ZTE Corporation had an arduous 2018 in the wake of the bad blood existing between the Chinese brand and the United States for allegedly violating export restrictions, which resulted in a temporary ban as well as hefty fines. The company has now reported its highest recorded annual loss, which hit 6.98 billion yuan (approx. $1.04 billion). This development is largely occasioned by the $1 billion fine it was mandated to pay to the American government. The move, which has devastating effects on ZTE, led to the ban of US component suppliers from having any deals with the company.
What compounded the corporation’s woes was that officials from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand followed the footsteps of the United States by placing a ban on ZTE and another Chinese telecommunications giant, Huawei, from developing 5G networks in their markets. Ultimately, this led to more unforeseen losses in revenue.
In spite of all those obstacles, ZTE still managed to acquire a profit of 276 million yuan ($41 million) in Q4 2018.
The company, being among the leaders in the telecom equipment space globally, anticipates going forward with its 5G and cyber-security programs and would eventually realize net profits of 1.2 billion yuan ($179 million) in 2019.
