Pure play e-tailer Amazon has posted a net income loss of $274 million (£170 million) in its third quarter, it has been announced.
Operating loss was $28 million for the three months ended September 30th 2012, $3 million of which was the result of year-on-year changes in foreign exchange rates, though the e-commerce giant was most strongly impacted by the losses reported by online deals operator Living Social.
Reporting a loss of 37 cents per share on its minority stake on the business, Amazon also announced that revenue growth had fallen below expectations as net sales grew 27 per cent over the period to $13.81 billion.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the company had expressed interest in bidding for online fashion powerhouse Asos in the hopes of tapping into the thriving clothing market though these claims have been refuted by Asos CEO Nick Robertson.
Last month, the e-tailer made two additions to its Kindle family and it confirmed that the Kindle Fire HD, which retails at $199, is its number one selling product worldwide and it is expected that this will continue to drive sales in the crucial run-up to Christmas.
Looking ahead, Amazon expects revenue over its final quarter to grow between 16 per cent and 31 per cent compared with the same period last year as it maintains its focus on reducing cost for thrifty shoppers.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said of the results: “Our approach is to work hard to charge less.
“Sell devices near breakeven and you can pack a lot of sophisticated hardware into a very low price point.”
