Amazon.com has reported net sales of $1.46bn (£791bn)
for its third fiscal quarter of 2004.
The sales results were up 29% from the year-ago third-quarter
total of $1.13bn. Net income was $54m in the third quarter compared
with net income of $16m in third quarter 2003.
Customer adoption of Amazon's free shipping hit a record level
during the quarter, increasing the amount of money the company lost
on shipping expenses, the company said. Amazon had a net loss of
$41m in shipping for the quarter, up from $27m during the same
quarter of 2003.
International sales for the company were up 52%, totalling $646m
for the quarter, as the company added toy stores to its German and
Japanese websites. Also during the quarter, Amazon acquired
Joyo.com, which is the largest online retailer of books, music, and
videos in China, according to Amazon.
Robert McMillan writes for IDG News Service
