Groupon reports profitable growth but says European markets are ‘challenging’

Groupon has announced a 45% rise in sales, but says European markets are “challenging”.

The daily deals website, which enables retailers to offer deals through its emails in return for a share of the profits, last night reported net income of $28.4m (£18.1m) in the second quarter of its financial year, up from losses of $107.4m at the same time last year. At the same time sales were up by 45% in the quarter to June 30 to $568.3m, from $392.6m last time.

“We had a solid quarter despite challenges in Europe and continued investment in technology and infrastructure,” said Andrew Mason, CEO of Groupon. “We’ve deepened our relationships with a growing base of merchants and customers worldwide, demonstrating progress as we work to unlock the opportunity in local commerce.”