Amazon loss widens despite climbing sales

Internet retail titan Amazon reported a money-losing quarter despite impressive growth in sales, sending shares plummeting by more than 10 per cent. The Seattle-based firm said that it had a net loss of $126 million in the quarter that ended June 30, widening the deficit from $7 million in the same period a year earlier. Sales, meanwhile, climbed to $19.34 billion in a 23 per cent rise from the second quarter of last year. Amazon shares plunged more than 10 per cent to $322.20 in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings figures. The loss came as Amazon poured money into a new Fire smartphone, original programming for its Prime subscription service, drone package delivery and more. ‘We continue working hard on making the Amazon customer experience better and better,’ Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos said in the earnings release, according to AFP.