Ebay posts bumper earnings
Online auctioneer eBay posted a 22 per cent rise in second-quarter net income to $460m (£230m) beating market forecasts and helped by further auction activity and a boosted sales from its PayPal secure payment unit.
Revenue rose 20 per cent to $2.2bn. The company also said it bought back 19 million eBay shares worth $566m in the quarter, helping to boost reported earnings.
PayPal revenue climbed 33 per cent to $602m as the payment unit signed online payment agreements with airline Delta Air Lines and video retailer Blockbuster.
Ebay chief executive, John Donahoe, said: “This was a strong quarter and we are very pleased with the performance of the portfolio, particularly with the growth generated by PayPal. We have made bold moves across the eBay marketplace to accelerate long-term growth. We remain confident in our strategies to improve the customer experience as we manage in an uncertain economic climate.”
Donahoe officially took over from the long-time chief executive, Meg Whitman, in March. Among the changes he has instituted, eBay has altered the fees charged to sellers, stressed more fixed-price listings and invited established Web retailers like Buy.com to sell their merchandise on the site.
eBay has also aggressively offered vouchers to buyers in an attempt to lure them back to the site. But this is having little visible success so far. The number of active users grew only 1 per cent this quarter compared with the previous quarter.