Article Posted on RTE.ie in Business
Online auction house eBay last night reported better than expected earnings, driven by the success of its online financial transactions service PayPal.
EBay said its revenues for the quarter ending December 31 was slightly less than $2.5 billion and its net profit was $559.2m.
'We delivered a strong fourth quarter and a solid year,' said eBay chief executive John Donohoe. 'We are driving strong local growth at PayPal and strengthening our core eBay business,' he added.
PayPal ended the quarter with 94.4 million registered user accounts and handled a total of $26.9 billion in payments during the period, according to eBay. Nearly half of that PayPal revenue came from outside the US.
The company saw revenue rise in its online auction Marketplaces during the year-end holiday shopping season. EBay finished the year with a net profit of $1.8 billion on $9.16 billion in revenue.
The company is adapting its service to changes in how people shop, focusing on the trend of using smartphones to locate bargains or stores and to even pay for things, Donohoe said.
'Mobile is increasing the number of Internet-enabled transactions, and in the process it is rapidly blurring the line between online and offline,' Donohoe said. 'We are trying to make sure we are aggressively capitalising on that as a company,' he added.
EBay sees PayPal as a reassuring option for shoppers reluctant to enter credit card or other sensitive financial data into mobile phones.
Along with building up its mobile platform, eBay will continue to beef up its tools to help shoppers easily find things they want.
Donohoe said the firm's strategy will build on recent acquisitions of US Internet startup Milo, mobile gadget application maker Critical Path Software and brands4friends, Germany's largest online fashion shopping club.
Milo is a website that connects shoppers with real-world shops that have what they seek and then lets them compare prices with those in online stores.
EBay announced in December that it bought Critical Path Software as it follows buyers and sellers onto smartphones and other devices.
Acquisitions for eBay in the final three months of 2010 included the $200m purchase of Berlin-based brands4friends, which was founded in 2007 and boasted 3.5 million members in Germany. It sells goods from well-known fashion and lifestyle brands at reduced prices to members through daily offers.
As part of the deal, eBay will assume brands4friends's equity interests in British shopping club SecretSales.com and in its Japan arm, brands4friends.jp. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.
Online auction house eBay last night reported better than expected earnings, driven by the success of its online financial transactions service PayPal.
EBay said its revenues for the quarter ending December 31 was slightly less than $2.5 billion and its net profit was $559.2m.
'We delivered a strong fourth quarter and a solid year,' said eBay chief executive John Donohoe. 'We are driving strong local growth at PayPal and strengthening our core eBay business,' he added.
PayPal ended the quarter with 94.4 million registered user accounts and handled a total of $26.9 billion in payments during the period, according to eBay. Nearly half of that PayPal revenue came from outside the US.
The company saw revenue rise in its online auction Marketplaces during the year-end holiday shopping season. EBay finished the year with a net profit of $1.8 billion on $9.16 billion in revenue.
The company is adapting its service to changes in how people shop, focusing on the trend of using smartphones to locate bargains or stores and to even pay for things, Donohoe said.
'Mobile is increasing the number of Internet-enabled transactions, and in the process it is rapidly blurring the line between online and offline,' Donohoe said. 'We are trying to make sure we are aggressively capitalising on that as a company,' he added.
EBay sees PayPal as a reassuring option for shoppers reluctant to enter credit card or other sensitive financial data into mobile phones.
Along with building up its mobile platform, eBay will continue to beef up its tools to help shoppers easily find things they want.
Donohoe said the firm's strategy will build on recent acquisitions of US Internet startup Milo, mobile gadget application maker Critical Path Software and brands4friends, Germany's largest online fashion shopping club.
Milo is a website that connects shoppers with real-world shops that have what they seek and then lets them compare prices with those in online stores.
EBay announced in December that it bought Critical Path Software as it follows buyers and sellers onto smartphones and other devices.
Acquisitions for eBay in the final three months of 2010 included the $200m purchase of Berlin-based brands4friends, which was founded in 2007 and boasted 3.5 million members in Germany. It sells goods from well-known fashion and lifestyle brands at reduced prices to members through daily offers.
As part of the deal, eBay will assume brands4friends's equity interests in British shopping club SecretSales.com and in its Japan arm, brands4friends.jp. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.
