Online retailer Amazon is expecting an uncertain Christmas for 2008.
The world’s largest online retailer has published a cautious set of predictions for the fourth quarter of the year, saying that sales could grow anywhere between 6 per cent and 23 per cent compared with last year.
Amazon said that sales for the period might be somewhere between $6 billion and $7 billion.
The cautious prediction has disappointed investors, which had been forecast sales growth of 24 per cent for the final quarter of 2008.
Following last night’s announcement shares in Amazon fell by more than 3 per cent in after-hours trading.
Amazon has also lowered its predictions for full-year profits, from $745m-$920m (£456m-£563m) to $716-$876m (£438 -£536)
The predictions were part of the retailer’s third quarter results in which it posted a rise on profits of 31 per cent compared with the same period in 2007. Profits grew in the third quarter by $4.26 billion compared with $3.26 billion last year.
Amazon said that sales for the period might be somewhere between $6 billion and $7 billion.
The cautious prediction has disappointed investors, which had been forecast sales growth of 24 per cent for the final quarter of 2008.
Following last night’s announcement shares in Amazon fell by more than 3 per cent in after-hours trading.
Amazon has also lowered its predictions for full-year profits, from $745m-$920m (£456m-£563m) to $716-$876m (£438 -£536)
The predictions were part of the retailer’s third quarter results in which it posted a rise on profits of 31 per cent compared with the same period in 2007. Profits grew in the third quarter by $4.26 billion compared with $3.26 billion last year.
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