Paypal, Mobile Drive 32 Percent eBay Growth

Global ecommerce and online payments company, eBay, yesterday reported its third-quarter sales had grown 32 percent compared to the same quarter last year, with profits rising buy 14 percent.

The company said the  strong figures were due to PayPal business, and the growth of mobile commerce.

People buy from eBay on mobiles

“Mobile commerce continues to accelerate as consumers change the way they shop and pay,” said eBay President and CEO John Donahoe. “We expect eBay mobile commerce to generate almost $5 billion (£3.2 billion) in merchandise volume this year and PayPal mobile to exceed $3.5 billion (£2.2 billion) in payment volume. Mobile is one way online and offline shopping are blending into a single commerce environment. ”

According to the company, trends have been relatively stable and it has been building good momentum. “We have made excellent progress in 2001 and have been delivering on our commitments, with the core eBay business growing in line with market rates, adjacencies performing well and the GSI integration progressing . “

These results, however, failed to impress punters, as share prices dipped in after-hours trading.  This was mainly due to its performance not outstripping profit predictions, combined with a cautious profit outlook for the Christmas shopping season.

In a statement, the company said that this growth was partially offset by continued investment in key strategic initiatives and the impact of acquisitions, including GSI, and  Magneto, now part of eBay integrated open commerce platform group, X.commerce, and Zong, now part of PayPal.