Seattle – Amazon.com reported double-digit declines in its first
quarter profits and operating income.
Earnings dropped 35 percent to $130 million for the three months,
ended March 31, while operating income fell 40 percent to $192 million. The declines reflect the company’s continued investment in infrastructure, operations, video content and customer service, and Wall Street rewarded the better-than-expected results with double-digit share price gains in after-hours trading.
“We’re adding a lot of resources,” chief financial officer Tom Szkutak said during a conference call.
Conversely, net sales rose 34 percent to $13.2 billion.
North America segment
sales, representing the company’s U.S. and Canadian sites, increased 36 percent
to $7.4 billion, while operating income rose 20.3 percent to $349 million.
Sales of electronics and other general merchandise in North
America rose 44.5 percent to nearly $4.8 billion, or 65 percent of the
merchandise mix. Media sales rose 15.8 percent to $2.2 billion, representing 30
percent of the merchandise mix.
The company said the Kindle Fire remains its best-selling product
and that nine out of 10 of its top first-quarter sellers were digital products,
including Kindle, Kindle books, movies, music and apps.
