Amazon has reported a second consecutive quarterly loss, but sales beat expectations despite its online retail business declining.
The performance reflected factors such as the impact of inflation – which has prompted Amazon to increase Prime subscription fees – and a strong showing from the AWS cloud computing division.
Amazon’s net sales advanced 7% to $121.2bn (£99.0bn) in the quarter to June 30, versus $113.1bn (£92.4bn) in the same period last year. The tech and etail giant posted a net loss of $2bn (£1.6bn) compared with earnings of $7.8bn (£6.4bn) in the second quarter of 2021.
The performance included a valuation loss from Amazon’s investment in electric vehicle business Rivian.
Sales at Amazon’s online stores slipped 4% year on year, while AWS revenues rose 33%.
Amazon said its latest Prime Day promotion, held earlier this month, generated purchases globally of more than 100,000 items a minute and its own devices were top performers.
Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said: “Despite continued inflationary pressures in fuel, energy and transportation costs, we’re making progress on the more controllable costs we referenced last quarter, particularly improving the productivity of our fulfilment network.
“We’re also seeing revenue accelerate as we continue to make Prime even better for members, both investing in faster shipping speeds and adding unique benefits such as free delivery from Grubhub for a year.”
Amazon’s rival Apple, which has just opened a new store in London, reported a similar trend in its most recent quarter – profit was down 10% but sales rose 2%.
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