Global mobile phone shipments increased 9 per cent annually to reach 408 million units in the first quarter of 2014, with Huawei being the “star performer” among the top five players, growing twice as fast as the industry average, Strategy Analytics said.

The growth rate is the highest since 2011, driven by “healthier demand” for 3G and 4G devices across Asia, Africa “and elsewhere”. Smartphones made up 7 out of 10 mobile phone shipments during the period.

Samsung grew by 6 per cent annually to 113 million mobile phones worldwide, giving it a market share of 28 per cent. The company’s growth rate has slowed recently due to tougher competition from Chinese vendors, but it “maintains an impressive product portfolio and is shipping more mobile phones worldwide than Apple, LG and Nokia combined”.

Nokia shipped 47 million mobile phones worldwide for 12 per cent share in the first quarter. Neil Mawston, executive director for Strategy Analytics, said: “Nokia continues to face intense competition from Apple and dozens of Android vendors. New owner Microsoft will be looking to Nokia’s upgraded X phone portfolio to stabilise the downturn in the coming months.”

Apple has closed the market share gap with Nokia to one point, and Nokia will “have to fight hard to stay ahead” in the second half of this year.

Ken Hyers, senior analyst for the company, also said: “LG had a mixed quarter, capturing 4 per cent share of the global mobile phone market. LG is performing well in Europe, but China and India remain major weak spots that the vendor still needs to address.”

Huawei shipped 14.2 million mobile phones worldwide for 3 per cent market share, to remain in fifth spot globally, with a growth rate two times higher than the overall mobile phone industry average. Its 3G and 4G devices are proving “relatively popular in Asia and North America”.

And finally, a long tail of “second-tier” brands continue to build momentum, including TCL-Alcatel, Coolpad, Lenovo, Xiaomi “and others”.