China’s TCL Communication – the company which offers devices under the Alcatel OneTouch brand – said that its “handset and other products” volume increased by 39 per cent year-on-year to reach 5.4 million units in April 2014, driven by growth outside of its home market.

Volumes in overseas markets increased by 41 per cent to 4.9 million units, representing around 91 per cent of the total. Shipments in China increased by 18 per cent to 0.5 million units.

The company also noted a strong growth of smartphones and other smart devices. April 2014 volumes “surged 207 per cent year-on-year” to 2.5 million units, accounting for 47 per cent of total shipments for the month. In April last year, the smart category made up 21 per cent.

For the year to date, total sales volume increased 54 per cent to 19 million units, with growth of 60 per cent in overseas markets to 17.4 million units. Smartphone and smart device sales increased 288 per cent to 8.8 million units.

At Mobile World Congress earlier this year, Den Dery, CMO of Alcatel OneTouch, told Mobile World Daily that visibility is one of the company’s key challenges in 2014, having designed and developed a broad portfolio and built its channels to market.

According to Strategy Analytics, the company moved into the top five handset vendors for a brief period late last year, off the back of its low-cost smartphones and feature phones in Latin America and Europe.