DHAKA: Amazon has reported a profit of $513m in its first quarter, helped by a 28% jump in sales.

Sales hit $29.1bn for the three months to the end of March, helped by rising sales of its Kindle reading devices and Fire tablet computers, reports the BBC.

Both sales and profits were higher than analysts had been expecting and Amazon shares jumped in after hours trading.

The company reported strong growth in customers for its Prime service, which includes free delivery and TV shows.

The results were a positive sign for investors who had been rattled by disappointing earnings from Apple and Microsoft.

‘It did restore my faith,’ said Dan Conde, an analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group.

Amazon’s cloud services unit was an important source of sales growth.

The cloud business rents data storage space and software services to companies, and is Amazon's fastest growing unit.

Revenue rose 64% year-over-year, reaching $2.5bn.

Investors have been watching Amazon’s cloud operation closely, particularly after one of its biggest customers, Apple, announced it would be moving some of its business elsewhere.

BDST: 1703 HRS, APR 29, 2016
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