Amazon unwraps Christmas profits boost

The UK boss of retail giant Amazon today predicted further strong growth this year as cautious shoppers hunt out the best bargains online.

The group – whose best-selling item in 2009 was the smash video game 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' – took two million UK orders on its busiest day in the run-up to Christmas, with 23 items bought every second.

Managing director Brian McBride said: “I’m not saying we’re recession-proof but when times are tough, people are looking for value.”

His comments came as the US-based firm posted a 71% hike in profits to $384m in the three months to December 31 and forecast sales up to 43% higher than a year ago in the current quarter.