Mobile trade a boost for ebay
US online giant eBay says third-quarter profits edged up 2 per cent from a year ago to $US597 million ($A583.89 million), driven by gains in mobile shopping and payments.
The profit of US55c a share, excluding special items, was a penny ahead of Wall Street expectations.
The e-commerce firm has lifted its forecast for the rest of the year.
‘‘ We had a great third quarter across our company, with Marketplaces and PayPal accelerating customer growth,’’ eBay president and chief executive John Donahoe said.
‘‘Mobile continues to be a game changer for us, and we continue to be a clear leader in mobile commerce and payments.
‘ ‘ We are consistently demonstrating our capabilities to help consumers shop any time, anywhere. And we are enabling retailers of all sizes to compete in a rapidly evolving, multichannel commerce environment.’’
Revenue for the third quarter increased 15 per cent from a year ago to $ US3.4 billion ($ A3.33 billion), eBay said.
The Marketplaces platform allows people and small businesses to sell items online. EBay’s PayPal online financial transactions platform and its GSI e- commerce services arm are also growing.
PayPal ended the quarter with 117.4 million active registered accounts, up 14 per cent year over year. Revenue increased 23 per cent.
Earlier this month, eBay unveiled a new look for its website, inspired by social networks. It will start giving its users a ‘‘newsfeed’’ and a ‘‘ personalised homepage’’ with recommendations based on a user’s shopping history or personal interests.