Xiaomi profit soars on overseas sales
Chinese brand Xiaomi has shrugged off a difficult global market for smartphones.
The firm says profit more than doubled in the second quarter.
That was on the back of soaring sales of premium handsets in overseas markets - up by 99.2 percent on the year.
With average selling prices also rising, acting CFO Wang Xiang said the brand had made a breakthrough with foreign buyers.
He described Xiaomi’s growth in Europe as ‘explosive’, and said overseas sales were now back to pre-crisis levels.
The company is already a major player in other international markets, including India.
In all, sales outside China now account for close to half of the firm’s total revenues.
They were up 3.1 percent over the period, with sales hitting just under 7.8 billion dollars, beating analyst forecasts.
The company actually sold fewer handsets in total though.
In the quarter to June it shipped 28.3 million phones - down from over 32 million this time last year.
At home Xiaomi faces stiff competition from Huawei.
But it will be keeping a close eye on its rival’s battles with U.S. restrictions.
Analysts at JP Morgan say Xiaomi is among the most likely gainers if Huawei starts to struggle.
