Amazon profit climbs 9%
Net income hits $225 million as revenue from net sales jumps 18 per cent to $6.70 billion
Amazon has announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008, with profit climbing 9 per cent.
Operating cash flow at the online retailer was USD 1.70 billion in 2008, compared with USD 1.41 billion year-on-year. Operating income grew to USD 272 million in the quarter, from USD 271 million the previous year, while net income increased 9 per cent to USD 225 million in the same three month period.
The company saw its net sales increase 18 per cent to USD 6.70 billion in the fourth quarter, from USD 5.67 billion for the same period the previous year. Amazon says it expects growth in revenue from net sales would have been as high as 24 per cent if not for unfavourable changes in foreign exchange rates.
Much of this success was spurred on by strong videogame sales, which saw the Nintendo Wii and Mario Kart Wii listed as two of the top five bestsellers.
"We remain relentlessly focused on serving customers with low prices, great selection and free shipping offers, including Amazon Prime," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO.
"We're particularly grateful for the unusually strong demand for Kindle in the fourth quarter."