Seattle – Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. said Tuesday that its third-quarter profits fell 44 percent, in large part because of the settlement of a patent-infringement lawsuit.
In a report released after the markets closed, the Seattle- based company said its net earnings were $30 million, or 7 cents a share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, down from $54 million, or 13 cents a share, a year earlier.
Amazon shares slipped 76 cents, about 1.6 percent, to close at $46.17 Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. After the report was released, its shares sank another $3.44, or 7.5 percent, in after-hours trading. The stock has been trading between $30.60 and $46.97 for the past 52 weeks.
The slump in profits came despite a hefty rise in revenue. The company said net sales increased to $1.86 billion in the third quarter, up 27 percent from $1.46 billion last year.
Excluding a $40 million legal charge, Amazon said its net income would have been $50 million, 12 cents per share.
In August, Amazon said it would pay $40 million to settle a patent-infringement suit with Chicago-based Soverain Software LLC. Soverain had alleged that the Amazon website infringed several patents on network sales systems and Internet server access control and monitoring systems.
