Amazon 3rd-qtr profit jumps 62 percent as consumers still spend despite shaky economy

Consumers still flock to Amazon: profit up 62 pct

SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon.com Inc. shares surged Thursday after the company said its third-quarter profit soared 62 percent, showing that consumers are comfortable opening their wallets to the online retailer despite the still-shaky economy.

Throughout the recession, shoppers have flocked to Amazon for deals on all kinds of products, from books to baby strollers, even while offline competitors were struggling.

The most recent report shows that the summer months were no exception — and that Amazon expects to carry the momentum through the holidays. It said it expects revenue in the current quarter to grow more than 20 percent.

The results and outlook sent Amazon shares up $11.20, 12 percent, to $104.65 in after-hours trading, well past Amazon’s 52-week high of $97.82. Before the earnings report the stock had finished regular trading up 3 cents at $93.45.

Amazon said Thursday it earned $199 million, or 45 cents per share in the third quarter. This far exceeded the 30 cents per share that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

Revenue climbed 28 percent to $5.45 billion, also surpassing analyst estimates for $5.03 billion.

Revenue from items such as books, CDs and DVDs rose 17 percent to $2.93 billion. Electronics and other “general merchandise” revenue jumped 44 percent to $2.36 billion.

Amazon said its revenue rose 23 percent in North America, and increased 33 percent internationally.

For the current quarter, Amazon predicted revenue of $8.13 billion to $9.13 billion. Analysts were expecting $8.11 billion.

The company declined to give details about sales of its electronic reader, the Kindle, beyond saying it is the company’s best-selling product.

Though e-books still make up a small portion of the overall book market, the market has grown rapidly. Now Amazon faces tougher competition from such companies as Sony Corp. and Barnes & Noble Inc. — which both soon will release devices that, like the Kindle, can wirelessly download books.

Amazon said Thursday that it intends to release software next month that lets people buy Kindle books and read them on a computer, regardless of whether they own a Kindle device. This is similar to an application already offered to owners of Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPod Touch, and may provide Amazon with a way to expand its e-book revenue.

Also Thursday, Amazon lowered the price of its international version of the Kindle by $20, to $259, matching the cost of a U.S.-only version it is discontinuing. Now all Kindles will have wireless access that works around the world.