SHENZHEN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tech giant Huawei's revenue rose 39 percent year on year to 179.7 billion yuan (about 26.82 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of the year, the company announced Monday.

The company's net profit margin in the first quarter was about 8 percent, slightly higher than in the same period last year.

Huawei continued to see robust growth of its consumer business as its smart devices led by smartphones continued to expand market presence. In the first quarter, Huawei shipped 59 million smartphones, according to its business report.

By the end of March, the company had signed 40 5G commercial contracts with carriers around the globe, with more than 70,000 5G bases shipped to markets around the world.

In 2018, the company raked in 721.2 billion yuan in global sales revenue, up 19.5 percent year on year, while its net profit increased 25.1 percent to reach 59.3 billion yuan.

Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees and focuses on providing information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices. The company operates in more than 170 countries and regions with more than 180,000 employees.