EBay Inc on Wednesday reported a sharp drop in quarterly net profit as the weak economy took a big bite out of its core online auction business.
EBay said net profit was down 31 percent in the fourth quarter from a year ago to US$367 million, while revenue fell 7 percent to US$2.04 billion, lower than for the same period last year.
The San Jose, California, company reported earnings per share of US$0.41, slightly better than the US$0.39 expected by analysts.
AUCTION REVENUE
Online auction revenue fell 16 percent during the quarter to US$1.27 billion.
“The revenue drop was attributable to the impact made by the strengthening dollar and the slow-down of the e-commerce market globally on the eBay business,” the company said.
Revenue growth for other Internet businesses such as PayPal and Skype helped limit the damage in the fourth quarter.
PAYPAL AND SKYPE
PayPal’s revenue rose by 11 percent to US$623 million during the quarter, while Skype’s revenue was up 26 percent to US$145 million.
For the full year, eBay said it posted net profit of US$1.78 billion, up from US$348 million in 2007, when its results were impacted by goodwill amortization worth US$1.39 billion.
“While the holiday season was tough and competitive, our overall results for 2008 were strong,” eBay chief executive John Donahoe said in a statement.
DIVERSE PORTFOLIO
“For 2008, we delivered double-digit revenue and earnings growth; made significant changes in our eBay business; and built a stronger, more diverse portfolio of leading e-commerce businesses,” he said.
“We will build on our strengths in 2009 while managing our business prudently in the continued challenging environment,” he said.
EBay said it expected revenue of between US$1.8 billion and US$2.05 billion in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS