China's Xiaomi books $1 billion quarterly loss forward of blockbuster IPO

China's Xiaomi books $1 billion quarterly loss ahead of blockbuster IPO

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi booked a first-quarter net loss of 7 billion yuan ($1.09 billion) ahead of its blockbuster initial public offering.

FILE PHOTO: A company logo of Xiaomi is displayed on its smartphone during an event announcing a strategic alliance between CK Hutchison and Xiaomi in Hong Kong, China May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo

That compares with a net loss of 43.89 billion yuan for the whole of 2017, according to its draft prospectus.

When one-off items are excluded, Xiaomi said it made a net profit of 1.04 billion yuan in the first quarter, compared with 3.9 billion yuan for the whole of 2017.

Its smartphone shipments jumped 88 percent thanks to strong growth overseas, helping Xiaomi’s revenue rise to 34 billion yuan ($5.3 billion) for the period. That compares with 114.6 billion yuan for all of last year.

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a Xiaomi store in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China April 7, 2018. Picture taken April 7, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

Xiaomi did not reveal a fundraising target or the number of shares on offer in the filing.

It is expected to raise about $10 billion in a Hong Kong IPO that could be the largest listing globally in almost four years, sources have said.

Up to 30 percent of the offering is expected to be sold as Chinese depository receipts on the mainland, sources have also said.

Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Edwina Gibbs

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Technology

September 28, 2018