Net sales for the quarter ending 31st December 2001 were $1.12
billion, compared with $972 million in the fourth quarter of 2000,
an increase of 15%. It was Amazon.com's first-ever billion-dollar
quarter.
The company recorded a fourth quarter 2001 net profit of $5
million, or $0.01 per share, compared with a fourth quarter 2000
net loss of $545 million, or $1.53 per share. Net sales for the
2001 fiscal year reached $3.12 billion, a 13% increase on 2000.
International sales across the company's UK, Germany, France and
Japan sites grew 81%. Including sales from the US site, more than
29% of the company's sales were made to international
customers.
The company's operations for the UK and German sites had a
combined pro forma operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2001,
having launched three years ago. Operating profit is a measure of a
company's earning power from ongoing operations, equal to earnings
before deduction of interest payments and income taxes.
The Seattle-based company founded and headed by Jeff Bezos still
carries $2 billion in debts, the interest on which costs around
$120 million each year. The company expects a tougher first quarter
this year, but thereafter expects results to improve.
Amazon.com's results were announced to Wall Street on the same
day that Kmart, the second biggest retailer in the US, filed for
bankruptcy protection. Kmart employs 250,000 people in more than
2,000 shops. Its annual revenues dwarf those of Amazon.com, at $37
billion.
