Chinese manufacturer of telecommunications equipment and smartphones ZTE summed up the first three quarters of 2017 and confirmed preliminary data released a week ago.

The company's net profit in the 9-month period from January to September amounted to 3.91 billion yuan (588 million dollars), an increase of 36.58% compared with the indicators of 2016,. Revenue at the same time increased by 7%, reaching 76.58 billion yuan. Also, ZTE reported that cash flow from operating activities in the third quarter was 1.036 billion yuan (11.5 billion dollars).

Since the beginning of the year, the company spent about 9.2 billion yuan (1.4 billion dollars) on research and development (R & D) or about 12% of its revenue. ZTE is actively investing in innovative areas, such as 5G and "Internet of Things" (IoT).

Also, ZTE confirmed its annual forecast, which provides a net profit of 4.3 to 4.8 billion yuan (about 646-722 million US dollars). This is a significant improvement over last year's losses of 2.36 billion yuan, which the company registered because of the fine imposed on it by the US authorities for violating the trade embargo with Iran and North Korea.

The company explained that it will be able to return to profitability on the background of growth in the division for the production of telecommunications equipment for telecom operators and the rise in the consumer business.