Amazon moves into the black

The group said it had earned $111m (�62.7m), compared with a $10m (�5.8m) loss for the same time last year.

Excluding certain items, the American online trading giant posted a profit of $97m (�57.6m) up 141% from last year, beating analyst forecasts.

The group has benefited from aggressive pricing and free shipping incentives which helped lift sales by 41%.

Amazon also said the weak dollar had helped sales over the period rise to $1.53bn from $1.08bn in 2003.

In January, the group announced its first full-year profit, saying it made a net profit of $35.3m in 2003, compared with a loss of $149.1m in 2002.

New lines

The group has transformed itself from an internet bookseller to the equivalent of a shopping centre offering everything from clothes to DVDs.

And just before its results, it announced it had opened an online jewellery and watches store.

Chief executive Jeff Bezos told the Wall Street Journal that Amazon itself would stock "millions of dollars of jewellery in a secure warehouse".

He said the move would give it the ability to set prices for the goods on sale rather than relying on customers to do so.

"The margins in a typical jewellery retailer are so high you can save people a significant amount of money," Mr Bezos told the US newspaper.