Internet auctioneer eBay last night posted first-quarter profits that more than doubled on triple-digit growth in key overseas markets and strong results from its online payment unit.
San Jose, California-based eBay also raised its earnings and revenue targets for both the current quarter and 2003.
Company shares pushed to a three-year high in after-hours trade, further stretching a valuation that has drawn criticism from some analysts, who applaud the company's track record but question whether its fast growth can be sustained.
EBay has become the online marketplace of choice for everything from collectible spoons to Caribbean islands, and its latest results sent shares up more than 3 per cent in after-hours trade to $92.23, their highest level since May 2000, before they eventually settled at $91.84.
The stock, which has gained almost 36 per cent since the start of the year, had closed down nearly 2 percent at $89.22 in active trade on the Nasdaq ahead of the earnings release.
For the first quarter, eBay posted net income of $104.2 million, or 32 cents per share compared with $47.6 million, or 17 cents per share a year earlier.
Revenues jumped to $476.5 million from $245.1 million, on strong results from United Kingdom and Germany as well as a 93 per cent increase in PayPal net revenues to $94.2 million.
The results topped eBay's forecast for net earnings of 26 cents per diluted share on revenue of $440 million.