Xiaomi publishes Q1 report, net profits more than double as market share grows

Xiaomi published its financial report on the three-month period that ends on March 31 2021, which shows growth across the board. The total revenue for the company was CNY 76.9 billion, up 54.7% compared to the same period last year, while the adjusted net profit went up to CNY 6.1 billion, a 163.8% increase over last year (note: this is a non-IFRS number).

Smartphones remain the backbone of the company, the 49.4 million units shipped accounted for CNY 51.5 billion of the revenue (up 69.8% YoY). 4 million of those phones cost CNY 3,000/€300 or more. The gross profit margin on smartphones was 12.9%.

MIUI now boasts 425 million monthly active users (MAU) globally, up from 331 million a year ago (an increase of nearly one third). According to Canalys data it is #3 smartphone brand worldwide. Xiaomi is big in China too with 118.6 million MAU for MIUI and a 14.6% share of the smartphone market that earned it the #4 spot.

Xiaomi’s overseas revenue increased 50.6% to CNY 37.4 billion. It is the #1 smartphone brand in 12 countries and it is Top 5 in 62 countries. More specifically, it is #1 in Russia (with a 32.1% market share), #1 in Spain (35.1% share), #2 in Italy, #3 in Germany and France. Overall, Xiaomi is #1 in Eastern Europe and #3 in Western Europe.

It leads the important Indian market with a 28.3% market share. Also, it continues to grow in Latin America at an impressive pace (+161.7%) and is now the #3 brand with a market share of 11.5%. It is also #3 in the Middle East and #4 in Africa (+191.0%).

Xiaomi Q1 2021 financial report

Xiaomi has ventured into other fields in what it calls its “Smartphone × AIoT” strategy. It is the #1 smart TV brand in mainland China for the ninth straight quarter and is Top 5 globally with 2.6 million smart TVs shipped. There is a growing demand for large TVs in China and Xiaomi was well prepared to meet it – it was the #1 brand in the 70+ inch segment with a 29.0% share (retail sales volume shot up 160% YoY).

Related to that are Xiaomi’s smart gadgets and Internet services. There are 351.1 million smart devices connected to Xiaomi’s AIoT platform (not counting smartphones or laptops). Its AI Assistant had 93.0 million MAU, the Mi Home app reached 49.2 million MAU. Its Internet TV services have 4.7 million paid subscribers (+8.2% YoY). Advertising revenue rose to CNY 3.9 billion (+46.3% YoY).

The company isn’t resting on its laurels and is increasing its investment in R&D. It spent CNY 3.0 billion in Q1, up from CNY 1.9 billion from last year’s report. The company will continue invest more into research and development going forward, as well as hiring talented engineers.

You can read Xiaomi’s full report for more details. There you won’t find an update on how the company’s smart wearables and laptops have performed during Q1, however.