As online sales soar in Australia, US operator Amazon who says that their Australian business has increased “significantly” this year has reported a 51% increase in sales to $9.91 billion.
On the downside, profits fell 8 percent to $191 million in the second quarter due to additional investments in infrastructure.
Amazon did not give specific details about sales of its Kindle e-readers in Australia, but Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos did say the $139 Kindle 3G version with Special Offers – a version of the Kindle released during the quarter that is subsidised with ads – is now its top-selling Kindle device.
Bezos said that “low prices, expanding selection and innovation” drove the company’s second-quarter growth.
This growth means Amazon must keep investing in operations expansions and upgrades along with moves into overseas countries like Australia and India, in order to support the proliferation of its online retail business. So far this year, it has announced it is building 15 new centers to fill orders. In a conference call with reporters, Tom Szkutak, Amazon’s chief financial officer, said he expects that figure to rise.
Overall, operating expenses rose 54 percent to $9.71 billion.
There is also speculation that Amazon is working on a tablet device to rival the iPad, but Szkutak would not divulge any details.
