EBay last night posted a first-quarter profit that nearly doubled as revenue from its online marketplace and its PayPal unit both grew strongly while a weak dollar boosted income from abroad.
The results topped Wall Street estimates and the company raised its revenue and profit targets for all of 2004, driving its shares up about 3 per cent in extended trade.
San Jose, California-based eBay posted a net profit of $200.1 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with its year-earlier profit of $104.2 million, or 16 cents per share.
Its per-share profit, excluding certain items, was 31 cents. Revenue rose to $756.2 million from $476.5 million.
Registered users topped 100 million for the first time during the quarter while gross merchandise sales - the total value of sold goods - hit $8 billion.
Ebay also raised fees to list items on its auction site during the past quarter, a move analysts said underscored its strong competitive position.
Analysts said the results showed eBay was holding down costs and surpassing Wall Street's already aggressive growth targets, confounding skeptics who have challenged the lofty valuation of the company's shares.