The company said that net income in the third quarter rose to USD255 million, or USD0.18 a share, from USD182.3 million, or USD0.13 a share, a year earlier. On a non-standard basis, eBay earned USD280.2 million, or USD20 a share, in line with its own estimates and Wall Street expectations. The firm also said it would have posted an additional penny per share in profits were it not for USD16.6 million tax related charge.

The firm’s revenue grew some 37 percent to USD1.11 billion from USD805.9 million, which was at the high end of its own predictions. The good numbers were taken as a sign that eBay is again rapidly expanding, following several quarters of tepid growth.

“We saw very strong growth across every part of our business in Q3,” said Meg Whitman, president and CEO of eBay. “It’s wonderful to see so much strength in our two largest marketplaces, the US and Germany. We’re excited about the great momentum eBay and PayPal have going into the holiday shopping season.”

Despite the good news, some investors were disappointed with results, mainly due to the firm’s weaker-than-expected outlook. The company claimed that it anticipates operating earnings of USD0.96 to USD1.01 a share for 2006, compared with analysts’ projections of USD1.03. Moreover, the firm said it expected 33 percent operating margins in 2006, below the company’s fourth quarter 2005 operating margin forecast of 35 percent.

EBay employs 800 people in Ireland in its European customer support centre and PayPal’s international headquarters.

Posted: 10|21|05 at 9:30 am. Filed under: Auction News.