Huawei has achieved another set of strong financial numbers in the teeth of US sanctions, Chinese media have reported.According to preliminary figures obtained by China Business Network, the vendor last year increased sales by 11.2% to $136.7 billion and profit by 10.4% to $9.9 billion.Last year was Huawei's toughest yet at the hands of Washington's export embargo, losing access to all components made with US technology and forced to sell off smartphone unit Honor.Figure 1:Looking up: Despite US sanctions and COVID-19 Huawei is set to increase profits again.

(Source: Huawei)By comparison, in 2019 it recorded a 5.6% gain in income of 62.7 billion yuan ($9.7 billion) on 19% higher revenue of 858.8 billion yuan ($133 billion).Rival Ericsson has just reported net income of $220 million on 2% higher sales of $27.9 billion.Sneak previewThe Huawei figures are from the company's internal reporting system but have not yet been reviewed by business units or accountants, China Business Network said.The privately held company also says it will pay a dividend to employee shareholders of 1.86 yuan per share, down from 2.11 yuan last year.Want to know more about 5G? Check out our dedicated 5G content channel here on Light Reading.Huawei usually reports its full-year financial results in late March or early April.Separately, Ryan Ding, president of Huawei's carrier business group, said worldwide operators had signed more than 1,000 5G industry application contracts in around two dozen industries.At a briefing on Monday he predicted that 2021 would be the first year of large-scale commercial use of enterprise, Sina Tech News reported.Ding said that Huawei had signed "several hundred" 5G network contracts worldwide.Related posts:Huawei offloads Honor handset unitHuawei gloomy about 2020 as US sanctions take toll and COVID-19 threatensEricsson warns of China risks but shares and profits soar— Robert Clark, contributing editor, special to Light Reading