Xiaomi Reports a Bigger Than Expected 21.4% Rise in Q4 Revenue

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp beats the estimates with a 21.4% rise in the fourth quarter as industrial handset shipments slowly recovered following a global chip shortage and a pandemic peak. 

According to Refinitiv data, the revenue of Xiaomi for the quarter ending December 31 increased to 85.58 billion yuan ($ 13.45 billion)  an increase from the analyst's forecast of 81.80 billion yuan. This was 70.46 billion yuan in the same period as the previous year.

Xiaomi president Wang Xiang said in a statement that securing a stable supply of chips in the first quarter of 2022 is still a challenge, but expected the situation to improve by June. 

The company, which derives most of its revenue from mobile phone sales, said smartphone sales for the quarter ending December 31 could increase 18.4% to 50.5 billion yuan ($ 7.94 billion).

Last year, Xiaomi took market share from Huawei in China's domestic market. Huawei lost momentum in smartphones after the United States imposed export restrictions on its suppliers. However, according to Canalys data, Huawei's spin-off Honor made a strong comeback in late 2021 along with Xiaomi, finishing its fourth quarter with a 16% market share in China.

According to Canalys, the fourth quarter smartphone shipment in China rose 10%. Continuous slowing handset demand in China, which is the largest market for the company has prompted Xiaomi to look for new opportunities. 

It has also ramped up investment in chips with the release of its first device with a self-developed image signal processor. The company has also expanded its brick-and-mortar retail footprint, with hopes to attract more customers.