New York: Online market place eBay has
reported robust growth in its fourth quarter net income at
USD 1.35 billion, driven by strong performance at PayPal
payment operations and its core auction business.
In the year-ago period, net income stood at USD 367
million, eBay said in a statement.
"We delivered a strong fourth quarter with double-digit
revenue growth driven by exceptional performance at PayPal and
turnaround progress and momentum in our core eBay business,"
eBay Inc President and CEO John Donahoe said.
Net revenues increased 16 per cent to USD 2.37 billion
in the fourth quarter of 2009, which includes revenue of USD
112 million from its telephone unit Skype.
Excluding Skype, revenue growth would have been 19 per
cent. In November, following a dispute with Skype's founders,
eBay sold 70 per cent of it to an investor group, retaining
the remaining 30 per cent equity with itself.
The payments business, which includes PayPal operations
reported USD 795.6 million in revenue for the quarter, an
increase of 28 per cent year-over-year.
The company's marketplace business unit, which consists
of eBay, Shopping.com, StubHub, Kijiji and other e-commerce
sites, recorded USD 1.5 billion in revenue for the quarter, a
15 per cent year-over-year increase.
In its outlook, eBay said it expects net revenues in the
range of USD 2.1 billion to USD 2.2 billion in the first
quarter of 2010.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 18:50