Xiaomi reported increased profit in Q3 as its smartphone shipments for the year-to-date topped 100 million, against a backdrop of tough times for competitors in the global device market.

In a statement, the company said growth in quarterly smartphone revenue was driven by both increased shipment volumes and ASPs. Revenue of CNY35 billion ($5 billion) in the smartphone segment was up 36.1 per cent year-on-year, while shipments of 33.3 million units was up 20.4 per cent.

Xiaomi said it worked to optimise its portfolio in its domestic market to strengthen its position in mid- to high-end smartphones. Shipments of its flagship Mi 8 series had reached 6 million by 9 October, with the device also performing well in its category in the subsequent Singles Day holiday sales, boosting ASPs by 16 per cent.

Smartphone ASPs also increased outside of China, which was attributed to an increasing proportion of shipments to Western Europe. International ASP increased 18 per cent.

More than phones
Away from smartphones, growth in IoT and lifestyle product revenue of 89.8 per cent to CNY10.8 billion was “primarily due to a rapid growth in our sales of smart TVs”. The company said it also saw improvements in “laptops and several of our ecosystem products such as Mi Band and Mi Electric Scooter”.

At the end of the third quarter, there were around 1.98 million users who owned more than five Xiaomi IoT devices, excluding smartphones and laptops.

The company also generated an 85.5 per cent increase in its internet services segment revenue to CNY4.7 billion, driven by increasing monetisation in mainland China. Within this, advertising revenue grew 109.8 per cent to CNY3.2 billion, “driven by continuous optimisation of our recommendation algorithm, users’ increasing engagement of our internet services, as well as higher pre-installation revenue”.

Xiaomi said that as of September 2018, its AI assistant had more than 34 million monthly active users, making it “one of the most used AI voice interactive platforms in mainland China”.

On a group level, profit for the period of CNY2.5 billion compared with a prior-year loss of CNY11 billion; on revenue of CNY50.8 billion, up from CNY34.1 billion. The 2017 period included CNY13.9 billion of financial charges: on a non-IFRS-adjusted basis, profit of CNY2.9 billion was up from CNY2.1 billion.