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SAN FRANCISCO - Online auction leader eBay today reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations and said its outlook for the rest of the year would be at the high end of analysts' predictions.
Shares of eBay jumped as much as 6 per cent after the company posted a 52 per cent jump in net profit on a 27 per cent revenue rise, led by growth in its core auctions business and the rising prominence of international sales.
"I would say it was a very strong quarter across the board," Chief Executive Meg Whitman said in an interview. "We at the top end of analysts' predictions, which ranged from US$1.27 ($1.72) to US$1.34, based on Reuters Estimates data.
"Overall it was a good report card," said Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst with Global Crown Capital. "The full year (revenue forecast) is up US$150 million," he said. "That's a nice bump considering they still have three quarters to go in the year."
"These are positive numbers versus expectations, which should be good for the stock," Stifel Nicolaus analyst Scott Devitt said.
Net income for the recently ended first quarter rose to US$377 million, or 27 cents per diluted share, compared with US$248.3 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.
Excluding stock-based compensation and acquisition costs, profit rose 34 per cent to US$460 million, or 33 cents per share.
Revenue rose to US$1.77 billion from US$1.39 billion. The split between US and international revenue is now 50/50, a shift since a year ago when the United States accounted for 54 per cent of revenue and 46 per cent was generated overseas.
The results outstripped Wall Street forecasts. Analysts had predicted an average net profit of 24 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Excluding one-time items and option costs, analysts expected a profit of 30 cents a share.
Wall Street was looking for first-quarter revenue, on average, of US$1.72 billion. Forecasts ranged from US$1.69 billion to US$1.77 billion, Reuters Estimates data showed.
- REUTERS
