Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Internet retailer Amazon.com has reported second-quarter sales falling below the levels expected by Wall Street analysts. The figures showed revenues of $578 million, which are 84% higher than those for the corresponding quarter in 1999, but fail to meet the internal projection for 90% growth.

The news caused a dip in share value which is now two-thirds down from its peak in December 1999.

Although Amazon's books, music and video activities showed a $10 million profit for the first time, sales from these activities fell 4%.

The company’s chief financial officer, Warren Jenson, said:

“While I will tell you we are very pleased to be in a business with 84% year-over-year growth, that said, growth was slower than our internal plan... However, we were very pleased to get ahead of the curve operationally and we were able to exceed our own internal bottom-line target”.

The company’s net losses increased from $138 million to $317 million. The number of customer accounts has also grown and is currently reported at 22.5 million with annual customer sales for the period ending 30th June rising by $17 per sale to $125.

Also reported this week were the second-quarter results of internet auctioneer e-Bay. Its net income of $13.2million exceeded expectations and was more than two times greater than the previous year’s income. This indicates that the company is in a strong position for its planned expansion into the Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan.

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