Podger pick eBay sees Q2 income double
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Auction website eBay – the top holding of Jeremy Podger’s Fidelity Global Special Situations fund – has seen income more than double over the second quarter of the year.
The online retailer’s latest financial results show net income amounted to $692m in the three-month period, up 144 per cent from the $283m reported in the same quarter of 2011. Earnings per diluted share were up 141 per cent to $0.53.
Podger has allocated 3.1% of the £1.3bn Fidelity Global Special Situations fund to eBay*, making it the portfolio’s largest individual holding. The stock is also owned by Jeff Munroe’s £1bn Newton Global Equity fund* and Aled Smith’s £1bn M&G American fund*, among others.
The quarter’s performance was driven by the eBay’s Marketplaces business, which includes its main auction website, benefited from the fastest growth since 2006. Revenue from online payment system PayPal also showed a strong increase.
EBay president and chief executive John Donahoe says: “Our entire company is strong, but we’re particularly pleased with eBay Marketplaces, which delivered its strongest organic growth in gross merchandise volume, excluding vehicles, since 2006.”
The company’s shares were up 5 per cent in after-hours trading, even though it has also forecast slightly lower than anticipated earnings for the third quarter of the year.
* as of May 31
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