Amazon quarterly sales growth driven by Kindle

SEATTLE — Amazon.com reported that net sales increased 22% to $21.27 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $17.43 billion in fourth quarter 2011.

Net income decreased 45% to $97 million in the fourth quarter, or 21 cents per diluted share, compared with $177 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2011.

“We’re now seeing the transition we’ve been expecting,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “After five years, eBooks is a multi-billion dollar category for us and growing fast – up approximately 70% last year. In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a book seller, up just 5%. We're excited and very grateful to our customers for their response to Kindle and our ever expanding ecosystem and selection.”

Net sales for the year increased 27% to $61.09 billion, compared with $48.08 billion in 2011.

Net loss was $39 million, or 9 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $631 million, or $1.37 per diluted share, in 2011.

For the first quarter of 2013, Amazon expects net salesto be between $15 billion and $16.6 billion, or to grow between 14% and 26% compared with first quarter 2012.Operating income (loss) is expected to be between $(285) million and $65 million, compared to $192 million in the prior year period.