Ebay beats 3Q

October 18, 2001 Posted: 2110 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) -- The Internet auction site eBay Inc. on Thursday reported higher third-quarter sales and earnings as business remained strong through the economic downturn.

The company reported third-quarter net income of $18.8 million, or seven cents per share, compared with a profit of $15.2 million, or five cents per share, in the year-ago period.

On an operating basis, excluding unusual costs, the San Jose, California-based company reported earnings of $34.9 million, or 12 cents per share.

That's a penny above the forecasts of most analysts, who had been expecting a profit of 11 cents per share, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.

Revenues rose to $194.4 million from $113.4 million.

"We're continuing to see sustained growth across our U.S. and international markets, deeper penetration into many vertical categories and expanded adoption of our fixed-price trading formats," eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman said in a statement.

Ebay's (EBAY: Research, Estimates) shares climbed $1.97 to $59.06 Thursday.

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