Kindle brings down Amazon financials

BOOKSELLER Amazon has announced a fall in profits of 73 per cent thanks to its work on the Kindle tablet computer.

Sales were up at the firm, and in the quarter it launched four new Kindle devices, but this was not enough to give it the sort of profits that investors were looking for. Perhaps it could also do with a new Harry Potter book to sell too.

"In the three weeks since launch, orders for electronic ink Kindles are double the previous launch. And based on what we're seeing with Kindle Fire pre-orders, we're increasing capacity and building millions more than we'd already planned," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, as he looked to steer away questions about how much developing the things cost.

Net sales increased by 44 per cent, to $10.88bn in the third quarter, an increase against the $7.56bn reported for the same period last year, but operating income was $79m in the third quarter, a large decrease when compared against the $268m seen in the third quarter of 2010.

As well as launching its new e-readers during the quarter the firm also signed some licensing deals with media companies that will see it offer their wares through its web pages, and sales in electronics, general merchandise and media grew across the board. µ