Sales boost eBay profits
Internet auction giant eBay saw a 10% rise in its third-quarter profits, as its core auctions business picked up slightly.
The group posted a 31% rise in sales to $1.4bn (£748.9m) in the three months to end September, and net income came in at $281m.
The company's growth was helped by a strong performance at eBay's online payments unit, PayPal, which registered a 41% increase in sales to $350m.
But investors have expressed concern over growth at eBay's core auctions business, leading to the group losing about a third of its value this year.
The group changed its pricing system in August to encourage sellers to use auctions more often, which the company said had led to a pick-up in auctions listings in September.
But analysts said it was too early to say whether the change would have a long-lasting effect on the group's overall performance.
Skype, which eBay bought last year for $4.1bn, continued to perform well with a 20% increase in registered users to 136m.
EBay said it expected full year sales to be around $5.9bn, and 2007 revenue growth was expected to be in the range of 17% to 21% over 2006 sales - falling short of analyst estimates of a growth of 25%.