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Amazon has reported its profits increased to $14.3bn (£10.53bn) in the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2021, with sales surging by 9% year-on-year from $125.6bn (£92.5bn) to $137.4bn (£101.2bn)
Operating income decreased 49% from $6.9bn (£5.08bn) compared to $3.5bn (£2.5bn) in Q4 FY21. Meanwhile, operating income for the full year increased 8% from $22.89bn (£16.86bn) to $24.87bn (£18.32bn), while operating income before tax surged 57% from $24.17bn (£17.8bn) to $38.15bn (£28.1bn).
Additionally, Amazon’s full year net sales increased 22% to $469.8bn (£346.04bn), compared with $386.1bn (£284.39bn) in 2020.
Overall, Amazon’s international net sales increased 22% from $104.41bn (£76.9bn) to $127.78bn (£94.12bn).
Subscription services also increased 15% from $7.06bn (£5.2bn) to $8.12bn (£5.98bn), and the company saw a 37% increase in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) net sales from $45.37bn (£33.41bn) to $62.2bn (£45.816bn). In addition, items available for Prime free shipping also increased by over 50%.
Meanwhile, Amazon had its “biggest-ever” Black Friday to Cyber Monday holiday shopping weekend, with apparel, beauty, home, and toys among the “top-selling” categories. During the holiday season, third-party sellers reportedly achieved “record” worldwide sales in Amazon’s store.
However, Amazon saw higher costs over the holiday season, driven by labour supply shortages and inflationary pressures due to Omicron.
The company estimates that net sales in Q1 2022 are expected to be between $112bn (£82.49bn) and $117bn (£86.17bn), or to grow between 3% and 8% compared with first quarter 2021. Additionally, operating income is expected to be between $3bn (£2.2bn) and $6bn (£4.41bn), compared with $8.9bn (£6.55bn) in Q1 2021.
Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, said: “A big thank you to employees across Amazon who overcame another quarter of Covid-related challenges and delivered for customers this holiday season.
“Given the extraordinary growth we saw in 2020 when customers predominantly stayed home, and the fact that we’ve continued to grow on top of that in 2021, our retail teammates have effectively operated in peak mode for almost two years.”
