Amazon reports soaring Christmas sales
Online retail giant Amazon has celebrated soaring Christmas sales as customers flocked to buy its Kindle e-readers and e-books.
In the quarter ending 31 December 2012, the company increased its sales by 22% to to $21.3 billion, from $17.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Operating income surged 56% to $405 million driven by strong sales of e-books and the company’s Kindle e-readers. However, net income fell 45% to $97 million.
Amazon said its e-book category was growing fast, with sales up 70% on the previous year.
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, said: “We’re now seeing the transition we’ve been expecting.
“After 5 years, eBooks is a multi-billion dollar category for us and growing fast – up approximately 70% last year. In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a book seller, up just 5%.
“We’re excited and very grateful to our customers for their response to Kindle and our ever expanding ecosystem and selection.”
