ZTE said it expects a bumper first half profit, fuelled by growth in its network infrastructure and mobile devices businesses.

In a short statement, the company said that based on preliminary figures, H1 profit increased 29.9 per cent year-on-year to CNY2.29 billion ($339 million), on revenue up 13.1 per cent to CNY54.01 billion.

The company noted “growth in operations including wireless network, wireline network and bearer network, in addition to handsets with improvements in gross profit margins”.

ZTE already reported a strong start to 2017, after a 2016 marred by a US trade sanctions probe and fine.

The vendor was put on a trade blacklist by US authorities for violating restrictions on doing business with Iran. This was followed by a management reshuffle.

ZTE is also pushing hard to be a leader in 5G, ready for sales to kick-in from 2019 onward.