Chinese telecom technology provider Huawei reported H112 sales revenue of CNY102.7 billion (US$16.16 billion), representing an increase of 5.1 per cent year-on-year. Operating profit amounted to CNY8.79 billion with an operating margin at 8.6 per cent, an increase of 20.3 per cent half-on-half and a decrease of 22 per cent year-on-year.

In the first half of 2012, Huawei’s three business groups – Huawei Carrier Network, Huawei Enterprise, and Huawei Device—achieved considerable progress in technological innovation and market expansion, further consolidating the company’s position as a leading global ICT solutions provider.

Samsung reported a near 50 per cent rise in net profit for the second quarter on the back of strong smartphone sales.

The South Korean electronics vendor reported Q2 net profit of KRW5.19 trillion (US$4.56 billion), up 48 per cent from KRW3.51 trillion a year ago. Total revenue rose 21 per cent to KRW47.6 trillion with the mobile unit accounting for KRW20.52 trillion, a 75 per cent increase year-on-year.

“Handset shipments gained quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, driven mainly by global orders for premium smartphones,” Samsung said in a statement.

According to figures published by Strategy Analytics, Samsung consolidated its lead as the world’s largest smartphone vendor by selling 50.5 million devices in Q2. It is thought that the flagship Galaxy S3 – launched during the quarter – accounted for 6.5 million in sales.

By comparison Apple announced this week it had sold 26 million iPhones in Q2.

With the so-called ‘iPhone 5’ not due until October, Samsung was upbeat on its prospects in the current quarter. “The smartphone market, in particular, will continue to be profitable as consumers are given a wider choice of new products at a wider range of prices while orders from emerging markets increase,” the vendor said.

At Samsung’s other major units, sales at the semiconductor division declined six per cent to KRW8.6 trillion, while the display panel division’s sales grew 16 per cent to KRW8.25 trillion.

The Tunisian government plans to put its 25 per cent stake in number-one operator Tunisiana up for auction, reports Reuters.

Finance ministry official Slim Besbess said in a press conference that offers can only come from financial companies and investment funds and must be submitted by November 2. Operators and operator shareholders are forbidden from participating in the auction.

The stake being auctioned was confiscated from the Princesse Holding conglomerate controlled by the son of ousted Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Tunisiana won a US$135 million licence to launch 3G and fixed-line networks in the country in May.

The remaining 75 per cent stake in the operator is owned by Kuwaiti group Wataniya, which is majority owned by Qtel.

Tunisiana controls 53 per cent of the three-operator market. It has approximately seven million mobile connections, ahead of rivals Tunisie Telecom (4.5 million) and Orange (1.7 million).

Although Facebook’s US$1.18 billion in revenue for Q2 was slightly ahead of Wall Street expectations and up 32 per cent year-on-year, the company swung to a US$157 million net loss – and gave little guidance on future prospects. 

The number of Facebook’s so-called monthly active users (MAUs) hit 955 million at the end of the period, up 29 per cent year-on-year, while 543 million of these now access the service via mobile devices, a 67 per cent rise.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook was “focused on investing in our priorities of mobile, platform and social ads.” On the subject of mobile, Zuckerberg appeared to shoot down long-running rumours about a Facebook smartphone. During a conference call he described "building out a whole phone" as something that "wouldn’t make much sense for us to do."

Revenue from ads was up 28 per cent to US$992 million, representing 84 per cent of total revenue, but mobile advertising has only recently been introduced and it is likely to only account for a tiny fraction of sales. Many analysts questioned why Facebook has to date been unable to monetise its sizable mobile presence.

Payments and “other fees” accounted for the remaining US$192 million.

The net loss was mainly due to charges related to Facebook’s ill-fated IPO in May. Shares were priced at US$38 at launch but sunk below US$25 on July 26 for the first time.

Ericsson has entered an agreement with Vodafone Egypt to continue to provide a quality network to subscribers through the transformation of Vodafone Egypt’s radio network.

Ericsson is set to deploy its latest RBS 6000 technology in the Vodafone Egypt network, which will allow the operator to meet the demands of its growing subscriber base and continue to provide them with quality mobile coverage throughout the country. The RBS 6000 is a site solution that supports GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA and LTE in a single package.