Amazon sales disappoint despite Kindle boost

The world’s biggest online retailer Amazon has disappointed investors after it missed sales targets and said profits will take a knock as it ramps up investment.

The company said revenues jumped 36% to $12.95bn (€9.44bn) in the final quarter of 2010 as sales of electronic books for its Kindle electronic device outsold paperbacks in America, but the figure still fell just short of analysts’ expectations.