Amazon reports doubled profits

High petrol prices attributed to strong sales

24 July 2008 13:15 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Online retailer Amazon has beaten profit forecasts with net profit for the three months to the end of June doubled to $158 million.

Sales of books, CDs and DVDs were up 31%, while electronics and general merchandise sales were up an impressive 58%, news which saw Amazon's stock price rise nearly 9%.

Although reports are coming in that online spend in the UK was down in June, analysts have suggested that Amazon is benefiting from high petrol prices, which might make folk more likely to shop from home.

"Overall Amazon would prefer a more robust consumer environment, but to some degree there are some benefits in that consumers aren't going to drive to get to the brick and mortar store", an analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen told the Beeb.

As is becoming the norm for the world's biggest online retailer, Amazon wold not reveal figures for sales of its Kindle e-book reading device, with a spokesperson stating only that they are "very happy" with sales.

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