Amazon reported that net sales increased 23 per cent to $35.7 billion in the first quarter, compared with $29.1 billion in first quarter 2016.

Excluding the $492 million unfavourable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 24 per cent compared with first quarter 2016.

Operating income decreased 6 per cent to $1.0 billion in the first quarter, compared with operating income of $1.1 billion in first quarter 2016.

Net income was $724 million in the first quarter, or $1.48 per diluted share, compared with net income of $513 million, or $1.07 per diluted share, in first quarter 2016.

“Our India team is moving fast and delivering for customers and sellers. The team has increased Prime selection by 75 per cent since launching the program nine months ago, increased fulfilment capacity for sellers by 26 per cent already this year, announced 18 Indian Original TV series, and just last week introduced a Fire TV Stick optimized for Indian customers with integrated voice search in English and Hindi,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO.

“We’re grateful that customers are responding — Amazon.in is the most visited and the fastest growing marketplace in India. It’s still Day 1 for e-commerce in India, and I assure you that we’ll keep investing in technology and infrastructure while working hard to invent on behalf of our customers and small and medium businesses in India.” – TradeArabia News Service