A revision of 2005 projections show the online giant being more cautious about business in the coming year. And further comparisons of headline figures for 2003 show that the growth curve is declining.
Having said that, net revenues were still up by 44 per cent in the final quarter of 2004, a rise most other companies can only dream of.
That 44 per cent rise brought net revenues up to $935.8m from the $648.4m recorded the previous year, itself a 57 per cent rise on the same period in 2003.
Net operating profits tracked the revenues closely, with a 40 per cent rise to $284.7m from $203.1m, which was a 78 per cent rise on the 2003 figure.
For the whole of 2004, eBay generated net revenues of $3.27bn, a 51 per cent increase over the $2.17bn reported in 2003, which was a 79 per cent rise on the previous year.
Net income for the year was $778.2m, a 76 per cent increase on the $441.8m recorded for 2003.
Listings for 2004 totalled a record 1.4bn, 45 per cent upon the 971 million listings for 2003.
If revenues are not increasing at as high a rate as before, however, the number of users on the site is maintaining its upwards direction.
Cumulative confirmed registered users at the end of the final quarter of 2004 stood at a record 135.5m, a 43 per cent rise over the 94.9m reported at the end of the same quarter in 2003.
Active users rose by a lesser margin, totalling 56.1m, a 36 per cent increase over the 41.2m reported in the same period a year ago.
Collectables, which include art and antiques, accounted for $2.2bn of sales in 2004 on eBay, coming sixth out of 12 categories that register over $1bn in sales.
135m users for eBay by end of 2004
EBAY’s fourth quarter and year-end results for 2004 were up again – but not as much as expected, leading to a dip in the share price.
