[Associated Press via NewsEdge] eBay reported that third-quarter profit increased 10% from the same period last year, beating Wall Street's moderate expectations and encouraging executives to raise earnings forecasts for the year.
The online auction company earned $280.9 million for the three months ended September 30, compared to $254.97 million in the year-ago period.
Revenue for the third quarter totaled $1.45 billion, up 31% from last year's $1.11 billion.
Excluding charges unrelated to ongoing operations, eBay earned $367.41 million, up nearly 24% from the same quarter last year, when eBay earned $280.16 million.
On that basis, which did not comply with generally accepted accounting principles, eBay was expected to earn $342.4 million, on sales of $1.43 billion, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Excluding one-time costs, the company expects revenue in the range of $1.62 billion to $1.68 billion.
For 2006, the company expects to earn $1.01 to $1.02 per share on revenue in the range of $5.87 billion to $5.93 billion.
That's slightly more bullish than previous predictions and Wall Street's expectations. Analysts are expecting the company to earn $5.89 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
The company predicted 2007 profits would increase at least 20% from 2006, and revenue would increase 17% to 21%.
Those estimates disappointed analysts, many of whom were anticipating 2007 revenue growth as high as 25%.
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