Phone-Maker Xiaomi Claims Nearly $1 Billion in Revenue in 2012 H1

Xiaomi, the young Chinese company that has shaken up the smartphone world with its keenly-priced M1 smartphone (pictured above), has announced that it raked in 6.05 billion RMB (US$957.46 million) in sales revenue for the first half of this year. Being a private company – barely more than a startup, founded back in 2010 – Xiaomi doesn’t need to reveal such figures. But its founder, Lei Jun, is something of a showman who has effectively whipped up a lot of hype for the single Android-based phone that it makes by teasing out its secrets.

No new actual sales unit figures have been provided, however. We’ve reached out to Xiaomi HQ in Beijing and will update if they’ll divulge some more solid numbers for how many of the 1,999 RMB ($316) phones they’ve shipped. The most recent stat making the rounds is three million Xiaomi M1s sold in total, but that number dates back well over a month. The company has recently revealed that it sold 700,000 units in May alone.

Xiaomi wrapped up $216 million in funding back in June, which effectively valued the upstart company at $4 billion – which would be half of troubled Nokia’s current market cap.

The Xiaomi M1 is – following the now de rigeur annual product cycle for mobile devices – due for a rebirth next month, when the second generation phone should be revealed, with a likely September rollout onto shelves. The M1 will be a tough act to follow.

[Source: CNbeta – article in Chinese]