Web marketplace ebay posted a 28 per cent increase in quarterly net profit last night.
Revenue rose to $1.03 billion from $756.2 million a year earlier, in line with analysts' consensus revenue target, fueled largely by growth in its overseas ebay businesses and its PayPal online payment service.
Its shares, which have fallen 43 per cent so far this year on slowing revenue expansion in key ebay markets, moved up four cents in after-hours trade from their Nasdaq close of $31.11.
Ebay forecast future profits at or below Wall Street estimates amid concerns of slowing growth
The San Jose, California, company posted first-quarter net income of $256.3 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with net income of $200.1 million, or 15 cents a share, last year.
Excluding items, the company had a profit of 20 cents a share. Analysts, on average, had expected net income of 17 cents a share and earnings excluding items of 18 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
The auctioneer has been haunted by growth concerns since its fourth-quarter results showed moderating revenue acceleration in its key markets of the United States and Germany. That sparked a one-day stock drop of 19 per cent.
Although many companies would envy the 36 per cent year-on-year net revenue growth eBay posted in the first quarter, analysts and investors noted that the comparable rate had been 44 per cent in the previous quarter.
Net income growth also declined from the fourth quarter, when eBay's year-on-year profit was also up 44 per cent.