Priceline shocks the world with profits

Priceline.com has moved into the crème de la crème of ecommerce world by reporting a Q2 profit of $2.8m on revenues of $385m - more than a fifth up on previous expectations.

The company - which offloads unsold airline tickets, hotel rooms and hire cars direct to consumers - claims its saw significant growth in its business during the quarter.

It added over one million new customers to its user base, bringing the total to nearly 11 million, while repeat business reached a record 61 per cent, compared to 39 per cent in the Q2 2000.

During the quarter, Priceline.com sold three million travel products - 1.4 million of which were airline tickets. The firm's hotel and rental car services experienced strong growth, showing an increase of 57 per cent over both the Q2 2000 and the Q1 2001.

Rental car sales increased 115 per cent and 52 per cent over the same periods.