Amazon reports 24% boost to sales, a move into the art market… and a net loss

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Amazon today announced a 24% rise in sales in the third-quarter of its financial year, but at the bottom line it also reported a net loss.

Sales at the company, which is the UK’s largest online retailer through its amazon.co.uk website, reached $17.09bn (£10.55bn) during the quarter. The company turned in a net loss of $41m (£25.3m), though had fallen from a loss of $274m (£169.2m) at the same time last year, when the company wrote down losses related to its investment in LivingSocial .

During the quarter, new initiatives included the expansion of fulfillment space with the introduction of new robotic helpers, the launch into India with amazon.in, the launch of Login and Pay with Amazon, which enables other retailers to accept payment using Amazon credentials, and the greenlighting of television shows piloted on Amazon and on its UK subsidiary Lovefilm.

The company has also taken a step into the art market, through the launch of Amazon Art. This, said Amazon, was a marketplace “that gives customers direct access to more than 40,000 works of fine art from over 50 galleries and dealers.” It added: “The store is one of the largest online collections of original and limited edition artwork for purchase directly from galleries and dealers.”

But for the time being, updates on familiar themes remain core to the company’s sales, with the launch of the latest version of its Paperwhite and Kindle Fire e-readers.

Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon.com, said: “It’s been a busy few months.”

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