NEW YORK (AFP) - Online auction giant eBay Inc. posted third-quarter earnings Wednesday of 492 million dollars that surpassed expectations but forecast a weaker outlook for the remainder of the year.
eBay's profits compared with a loss of 936 billion dollars in the same period last year, primarily because of a write-down for its Internet telephony service Skype.
Earnings per share in the third-quarter were 46 cents on an adjusted basis, better than the expectations of analysts of 41 cents per share.
eBay said revenue rose 12 percent in the third-quarter to 2.12 billion dollars.
The Internet auction house forecast earnings per share of between 39 and 41 cents in the fourth-quarter, below the 47 cents expected by analysts, and 1.69 to 1.71 dollars for the entire year, off the expected 1.73 dollars.
"Overall, we are pleased with the performance of the portfolio this past quarter," eBay president and chief executive John Donahoe said in a statement.
"We took a number of steps during the quarter to further strengthen our business and better align our cost structure to invest and compete," he said.
"We will continue to stay focused on connecting consumers on our various e-commerce platforms, maintaining financial discipline and capitalizing on new opportunities for growth," Donahoe added.
In a conference call with reporters after the results were released, Donahoe said "we expect a very challenging fourth-quarter holiday season for consumers who will be cautious with their spending.
"We intend to fight aggressively for demand in the fourth-quarter to support our sellers and to augment demand," he added.
eBay said its online auction activities contributed most of its revenue during the third-quarter -- 1.38 billion dollars, up four percent from the same period last year but down six percent from the previous quarter.
eBay reported growth of Skype, the online payment service PayPal and global classifieds.
PayPal's revenue rose to 597 million dollars in the third-quarter, up 27 percent over the same period last year, while Skype reported revenue of 143 million dollars, up 46 percent over the same period last year.
The San Jose, California-based company announced on October 6 that it was cutting its global workforce by about 10 percent in a bid to streamline its organization and improve its cost structure.
eBay's core online auction business has experienced poor growth recently amid increased competition from sites such as Internet retail giant Amazon.
eBay's share price fell 13.59 percent on the Nasdaq on Wednesday to 15.33 dollars and continued to slide in after-hours trading after the third-quarter results were announced.
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