Huawei R&D center at Shenzhen HQ on Jan.25, 2010 [File Photo]

Huawei Technologies knocked off Swedish telco giant Ericsson to become the world's largest telecom equipment vendor by sales for the first time, after it reported an increase of 5.1 percent in sales to 102.7 billion yuan (US$16.1 billion) yesterday.

Ericsson, previously the world's largest equipment manufacturer, last week reported a drop in sales to 106.3 billion kronor (US$15.25 billion) during the first half of 2012, less than Huawei's sales over the same period.

Huawei estimates 15 percent growth and improved operational efficiency for this year, and expects its 2012 profitability to match last year's numbers.

"We are relatively optimistic about the company's operating performance and profitability in the remaining days of this year," said Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou.

A staff from Huawei said the company's first-half performance has roughly met the company's expectations.

Since 2011 Huawei has made aggressive expansion into the terminals market which has driven its revenue growth.

In the face of uncertainties in the global economy, many telecom equipment makers are scaling down costs.

In 2011, Ericsson sold half of the stake in its joint-venture Sony Ericsson to Sony and this deal to some extent dented Ericsson's scale.

Ericsson has placed increasing value on its global services and support solutions businesses which have accounted for about half of the company's revenues and have maintained rapid growth.