eBay turnaround boosts fourth quarter earnings

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A three-year turnaround plan has helped eBay's earnings beat market forecasts.

The internet firm recorded fourth quarter profits of $559m (£350m), boosting its share price by 2.9%.

The company saw 22% revenue growth in its payments services - including Paypal - and robust 4% growth at its online market place.

The results follow a host of changes, including a revamped website and search engine, lower upfront fees, and the launch of mobile applications.

The company said that its mobile apps had now been downloaded more than 30 million times, and they expected trading volumes via mobile users to double next year to $4bn.

"We're becoming a stronger, more competitive company," said chief executive John Donahoe.

The strong performance pushed eBay's fourth quarter underlying profits up 24%, <a href="http://www.ebayinc.com/news#20110119006794" >according to its financial statement</a>.

Actual bottom-line profits were down more than half from the same period a year ago, but this was due to the effect of exceptional one-time effects, notably the profitable sale of online phone service Skype a year ago.

Underlying earnings-per-share of 52 cents were well above the 47 cents expected by analysts.