AMAZON.COM REVENUES UP

Leading online retailer Amazon.com reported wider losses from a year ago even as revenues nearly doubled. The losses reported Wednesday were slightly less than Wall Street had been expecting.

Amazon posted a loss of $122 million, or 35 cents per share, on sales of $574 million. While revenues were up 95 percent over the $294 million from the first quarter a year ago, losses deepened from $36 million, or 12 cents per share, a year ago.

The company's financials were released after the markets closed for the day. Shares of Amazon.com were up $1.06 to $53.50 at the close on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Amazon also announced it had gained 3.1 million new customer accounts in the first three months of the year, increasing its customer base to more than 20 million people.

Amazon.com founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said the results, far more favorable than the 55 cents per share loss in the last quarter of 1999, showed that Amazon was "driving toward profitability." Bezos also predicted that the company's books, audio and video divisions would be profitable for the full 2000 fiscal year.