SAN FRANCISCO — EBay Inc. reported Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit increased 24 per cent from the same period last year, trouncing Wall Street estimates and prompting executives to raise estimates for the current quarter.
Thanks to scorching holiday sales — particularly in eBay's traditional strongholds of the United States, United Kingdom and Germany — the San Jose-based online auction company earned $349-million, or 25 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. It earned $279-million, or 20 cents per share in the year-ago period.
EBay shares increased $1.38, or nearly 5 per cent, to close Wednesday at $30 on the Nasdaq Stock Market before the earnings report was released. It jumped to $33.05, up an additional 10.2 per cent, in after-market trading.
"It was a very strong quarter capping a very strong year," eBay President and Chief Executive Meg Whitman said in a brief phone interview with The Associated Press when the results were released.
Fourth-quarter revenue totalled $1.72-billion, up 29 per cent from $1.33-billion in the year-ago period.
Excluding charges unrelated to ongoing operations, eBay earned $431-million, or 31 cents per share, up nearly 27 per cent from the same quarter last year, when eBay earned $340-million, or 24 cents per share.
On that basis, which does not comply with generally accepted accounting principles, eBay was expected to earn $402-million, or 28 cents per share, on sales of $1.67-billion, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
During the holiday quarter, more than 81 million active eBay users exchanged $14.4-billion in goods, ranging from pricey real estate and computer servers to Pez dispensers and clothing.
Whitman said the company raised first-quarter 2007 sales guidance to a range of $1.67-billion to $1.72-billion. Excluding special items, eBay expects earnings per share to be in the range of 28 cents to 30 cents per share.
In 2006, eBay earned $1.13-billion, or 79 cents per share, up 4 per cent from $1.08-billion, or 78 cents per share, in 2005. Excluding stock-based compensation costs and other expenses, eBay in 2006 earned $1.49-billion, or $1.05 per share, up nearly 24 per cent from $1.2-billion, or 86 cents per share, a year earlier.
Annual revenue was $5.97-billion, up 31 per cent from $4.55-billion in 2005. That's higher than the $5.96-billion from the most optimistic analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Overall, analysts expected eBay to earn $1.46-billion, or $1.02 per share, on sales of $5.91-billion.
