eBay Inc Q2 profit drops 29 pc

NEW YORK: Online auction firm eBay Inc has reported a 29 per cent drop in net profit at $327 million in the second quarter ended June 30, mainly due to drop in sales of its marketplaces business.

The company had a net profit of $460 million in the corresponding year ago period, eBay said in a statement.

Net revenue declined four per cent to $2.09 billion in the latest quarter compared to $2.19 billion in the June quarter of 2008.

The marketplaces business unit, which consists eBay, Shopping.com, StubHub, Kijiji and other e-commerce sites, recorded revenue of $1.26 billion, a 14 per cent year-over-year decline.

The revenue drop was attributable to the impact of the stronger dollar and the impact of challenging macroeconomic conditions, the statement added.

"We drove solid second quarter results, with strong momentum and market share gains at PayPal and continued stabilization in our core eBay business," eBay Inc President and Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe said

However, the year-over-year revenue growth of PayPal and Skype was offset by the effects of the stronger dollar and a modest decline in the marketplaces business, the statement said.