Amazon has reported $16.1bn (£10.4bn) in net sales for Q1, 2013, a 22 per cent year-on-year increase from $13.2bn (£8.5bn) in Q1, 2012. 

Operating income, however, decreased by six per cent year-on-year to $181m , and net income decreased 37 per cent to $82m.

Looking forward, Amazon says it expects net sales to stay roughly steady in Q2, between $14.5-16.2bn, a growth of 13-26 per cent year-on-year but potentially a drop in performance on a quarterly basis.

Commenting at the results, Victor Basta, managing director of Magister Advisors, said: “We believe that Amazon has serious aspirations to be a massive mobile device company, to fuel its retail and book sales, and find new ways of engaging with its huge base of active mastercard-enabled purchasers.

“We expect to look Amazon accelerate its efforts in mobile devices and there’s already a great deal of evidence that here’s where it’s heading.  Amazon has bought a number companies that every provide critical parts of the mobile puzzle. Beforehand few years Amazon has acquired SnapTell, a picture-matching startup; IVONA Software, a text-to-speech service; Yap, a voice-to-text startup; Touchco, a consultant in touchscreen technology; and Evi, a Siri-style app that turns phones into mobile assistants.”