Heavy investment in the Kindle tablet computer has seen profits at Amazon, the online retailer, drop 73 per cent, wireless communication device users may be interested to learn.
The world's largest online retailer confirmed that third quarter net income was $63 million (£40 million).
In response to the news, shares in the firm fell a dramatic 12 per cent in the hours after trading.
Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, commented: "In the three weeks since launch, orders for electronic ink Kindles are double the previous launch.
"And based on what we're seeing with Kindle Fire pre-orders, we're increasing capacity and building millions more than we'd already planned."
Further to this, Amazon forecast lower-than-expected sales for the next quarter.
In fact, the firm could see an operating loss due to continuing investment in the Kindle Fire.
It has been suggested, however, that the Kindle Fire will emerge as a challenger to Apple's iPad.
Posted by Andre Dixon