Chinese telecom equipment vendor Huawei announced sales increased 19% to 135.8 billion yuan (US$21.9 billion) for the first six months of the year.

Better brand awareness and stronger demand for smart gadgets contributed to the higher sales, according to Huawei Chief Financial Officer Cathy Meng.

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Meng said that the company "achieved quality and sustainable growth in our consumer business, thanks to the increase of brand awareness and smart devices sales worldwide."

Huawei also forecast an operating profit margin of 18.3 percent for the first half of the year.

The Shenzhen-based firm's business had been largely limited to manufacturing telecommunications equipment, but the company has branched out into making smartphones.

Data from research company IDC show 13.7 million Huawei smartphones shipped in the first quarter of this year. That means that Huawei is now the third-largest smartphone vendor in the world.

The company also benefited from rising investments in fourth-generation mobile technology. Meng said Huawei had "further solidified its leadership position in mobile broadband" because of the growth of LTE networks across the globe.

Huawei is also venturing into wearable technology. Earlier this year, the firm launched its hybrid TalkBand wearable device.

With strong sales, Huawei appeared to have weathered U.S. allegations that the phone-network equipment maker was a security threat because of its association with the Chinese government and military.

Huawei's founder, Ren Zhengfei, was a former member of the People's Liberation Army.

But Huawei has denied on several occasions the U.S. claims. It maintains that the company is 100 percent owned by its employees and founder, suggesting that the Chinese government has no participation in the business.

Amid concerns that Huawei could be spying on the U.S. on behalf of China's government, the New York Times reported earlier this year that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) hacked into the company's servers.

Beijing has demanded an explanation from Washington for the alleged NSA action.

TagsHuawei sales