Amazon continues to grow in Q3

Now predictably profitable?

Amazon.com has turned in another set of impressive quarterly figures, growing revenue 33 per cent to $1.13bn year-on-year and posting a profit.

While the company mantra remains to tout the online business model and a focus on low prices for goods and shipping, the e-tailer is gearing up for what should be its biggest quarter ever, in the run up to Christmas.

In the three months ending 30 September, Amazon opened a sporting goods division in the US and one for consumer electronics in Japan. However, UK MD Robin Terrell said: "We will continue to add [to what we offer in the UK] though that won't just mean new businesses. Our mission is to sell anything online and that's only a matter of time."

The amount of product sold through third-parties increased to 22 per cent over the quarter, up from 17 per cent a year ago. However, Amazon and its CEO, Jeff Bezos, remain laid back about how high the company would like this figure to reach, despite being quizzed by the media and analysts.

"There is no magic number," said Terrell.

Amazon is pioneering the use of web services to link third-party sites through to its back end, enabling greater sales and other, sometimes non-e-tail focused partners, to offer a shop front.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation reached $48m, slightly ahead of analyst forecasts.