Online retailer Amazon Australia posts $3.1b in sales but still not profitable

Online retail giant Amazon’s Australian business has posted strong revenue growth, partly led by its popular subscription service but is still not profitable.

Latest accounts filed with the corporate regulator show Amazon Australia recorded total sales of $3.1 billion in the year to the end of December, up from $2.6b in 2022, but reported an $8.8 million loss.

When asked about the company’s performance, an Amazon spokeswoman said it was focused on providing the best experience for its customers and businesses selling on the platform.

She said Amazon had introduced a new shopping event called Prime Big Deal Days to help customers find greater value amid higher cost-of-living pressures, opened a new warehouse at the Jandakot Airport commercial precinct in Perth to improve delivery, as well as announced a new broadcast deal with ICC Cricket in Australia.

“Since 2011, Amazon has invested more than $15b across all of its businesses in Australia,” she told The West Australian.

“Our focus remains on our customers, and we would like to thank them for placing their trust in us.”

Since launching in Australia in December 2017, Amazon has taken on supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles and other retailers like Target, Big W and Kmart.

The accounts revealed revenue for its online store grew to nearly $1.6b in 2023, up from $1.3b in the previous year.

It also posted growth in what it describes as its “subscription services”, such as the Amazon Prime platform, which boasts more than 200 million subscribers globally.

Subscription services sales grew to $346m in 2023 from $246m.

Customers can get two-day free shipping on items such as electronic equipment, fashion and home accessories.

It also offers a Netflix-style streaming system — where teen drama television series The Summer I Turned Pretty became one of its most popular shows — as well as music and an online book library called Audible.

Third-party seller sales grew from $316m in 2022 to $568m in 2023.

The accounts also show $16.5m in income taxes for the period. The Amazon spokeswoman said it paid all applicable taxes in Australia and every country it operated in.

“Corporate tax is paid on profit, not revenue, and profits have remained low as we have invested in our Australian business to offer more products and services and grow our logistics capabilities to better serve customers and selling partners,” she said.

She said there were many indicators Australian households were feeling cost pressures.

“Our primary focus is on our customers, and we’re always looking for opportunities to understand their needs and how we can make sure we’re part of the solution to cost-of-living pressures,” she said.

“We do this directly through our value proposition and also by empowering our selling partners to meet customer needs.”