eBay, StubHub post solid 1Q numbers

Ecommerce and online auction house giant eBay Inc. reported a healthy 22 percent increase in net income to $460 million, or 34 cents per share, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008, compared to $377 million, or 27 cents a share for the same period a year earlier.

First quarter figures also showed a 24 percent increase in revenue to $2.19 billion, up $424 million from the same period last year. Revenue growth was driven primarily by the Marketplaces division's net transaction revenues; the ongoing expansion at PayPal, Skype; and the company’s global classifieds business.

The Marketplaces business unit, which consists of the eBay auction site, StubHub, Shopping.com, Kijiji and other ecommerce sites, had a strong quarter with $1.48 billion in revenue, or a 19 percent year-over-year increase. The company did not disclose specific figures for StubHub, but the division's revenue growth was fueled primarily by StubHub, in addition to advertising and classifieds, further illustrating StubHub's popularity and dominance as the largest secondary ticket marketplace, according to TicketNews's exclusive weekly rankings. eBay purchased StubHub last year for $310 million.

Last summer StubHub inked a five-year deal with Major League Baseball to become the league's exclusive secondary ticket reseller.

“This was a very strong financial quarter for the company,” eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe said in a statement. “The results reflect the strength provided by our diverse portfolio of businesses. Our stability and growth continues to give us the confidence to make innovative changes to our products to keep customers engaged for years to come.”