Ebay in profit

Profits at online auction giant eBay have surged, thanks to the sale of a majority stake in its internet phone company Skype. EBay made a net profit of $1.36 bn (£835 m) in the three months to the end of December, up from $367 m for the same period a year earlier. The profits were lifted by the gain of $1.4 bn that it decided to register in the quarter from the Skype sale. EBay agreed to sell 65 % of Skype in September for $2 bn. The company said its profits were also bolstered by growth at its PayPal online payments business, and increased shopping over the Christmas period. Excluding the one-off gain from the Skype sale, its results were still ahead of market expectations. Its revenues rose 16 % from a year earlier to $2.37 bn.