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| Amazon sees profits and sales surge | Amazon sees profits and sales surge |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Amazon has reported a profit of $513m (£351m) in its first quarter, helped by a 28% jump in sales. | Amazon has reported a profit of $513m (£351m) in its first quarter, helped by a 28% jump in sales. |
| Sales hit $29.1bn for the three months to the end of March, helped by rising sales of its Kindle reading devices and Fire tablet computers. | Sales hit $29.1bn for the three months to the end of March, helped by rising sales of its Kindle reading devices and Fire tablet computers. |
| Both sales and profits were higher than analysts had been expecting and Amazon shares jumped in after hours trading. | Both sales and profits were higher than analysts had been expecting and Amazon shares jumped in after hours trading. |
| The company reported strong growth in customers for its Prime service, which includes free delivery and TV shows. | The company reported strong growth in customers for its Prime service, which includes free delivery and TV shows. |
| The results were a positive sign for investors who had been rattled by disappointing earnings from Apple and Microsoft. | |
| "It did restore my faith," said Dan Conde, an analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group. | |
| Cloud lifting | |
| Amazon's cloud services unit was an important source of sales growth. | |
| The cloud business rents data storage space and software services to companies, and is Amazon's fastest growing unit. | The cloud business rents data storage space and software services to companies, and is Amazon's fastest growing unit. |
| Revenue rose 64% year-over-year, reaching $2.5bn. | Revenue rose 64% year-over-year, reaching $2.5bn. |
| Investors have been watching Amazon's cloud operation closely, particularly after one of its biggest customers, Apple, announced it would be moving some of its business elsewhere. | Investors have been watching Amazon's cloud operation closely, particularly after one of its biggest customers, Apple, announced it would be moving some of its business elsewhere. |
| Amazon takes on Netflix with new move | |
| Amazon defends workplace culture | |
| Amazon and eBay face VAT scrutiny | |
| Prime options | Prime options |
| Since the start of the year Amazon has added new televisions shows and films to its Prime service, which helped to attract new users. | Since the start of the year Amazon has added new televisions shows and films to its Prime service, which helped to attract new users. |
| In April, Amazon introduced options to pay monthly for the service. | In April, Amazon introduced options to pay monthly for the service. |
| The plan is part of an effort to compete with video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. | The plan is part of an effort to compete with video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. |
| The company also attributed the increased number of Prime members to the expanded list of products eligible for free two-day shipping. | |
| Device sales | |
| Amazon did not detail sales of devices like the Kindle and Fire table, but did say that the division has seen growth. | |
| "Amazon devices are the top selling products on Amazon, and customers purchased more than twice as many Fire tablets than first quarter last year," chief executive Jeff Bezos said. |