We have the objective of by 2005 having 50% of our business generated outside the US

Robin Terrell, Amazon.co.uk

While the flagship e-tailer has confirmed fears it slipped back into a red for the January to March period, the loss was, at $23m, less than analysts had expected.

In the same quarter a year ago Amazon ran at a $234m loss.

Online travel firm Expedia further buoyed dot.com sentiment by revealing a net profit, thanks to strong sales in its vacation and hotel packages.

Shares in Amazon, which unveiled the results after the close of US stock markets on Tuesday, rose to $15.00 in after hours trading.

The stock had closed at $14.06.

Expedia shares, which had closed at $70.75, rose to $72.79.

Non-standard figures

Amazon's performance, including a 21% increase in revenues to $847.42m, helped prompt the firm to increase to $100m, from $30m, its expectations for pro-forma profits this year.

But Mr Terrell refused to be drawn on when the firm would again report a net profit, a measure which conforms to international accounting standards.

It was Amazon's reporting of a net profit which caused a stir in Wall Street in January.

"We have always based our plans around our pro-forma figure," Mr Terrell said.

"We feel it gives a better measure of cash generation."

The pro-forma figure excludes not only one-off costs, but figures deemed "non-operational" or "non-cash", including restructuring costs.

International growth

The firm, also announcing its third price cut in the US in nine months, said its performance had been underpinned by a policy of "relentlessly" working to increase discounts.

The growing contribution of international operations, where sales rose by almost three quarters to $226m, was also highlighted.

More than one third of Amazon's total revenues were gained from British French, German, and Japanese sites, compared with 24% a year before, Mr Terrell said.

"We have the objective of by 2005 having 50% of our business generated outside the US."

The high rate of sales increase, while largely attributed to the relative youth of the sites and so their greater potential for growth, was being boosted by strategies such as handling sales in secondhand items offered by individual customers, Mr Terrell added.

In the US, the sale of secondhand goods now accounted for 23% of sales, compared with 15% in the last three months of 2001.

"You can see the potential for us in the UK," he said.

Expedia's gains

Expedia also raised forecasts, after revealing a net profit of $5.7m for the first three months of the year, compared with a $17.6m loss a year before.

Revenues more than doubled to $116m, with gross bookings rising $425m to break the $1bn mark.

"They exceeded everyone's expectations for the quarter," said CIBC analyst Paul Keung.