Net income climbed to $225 million, or 52 cents a share, from $207 million, or 48 cents, a year earlier, the Seattle- based company said today in a statement. Sales rose 18 percent to $6.7 billion, compared with an estimate of $6.45 billion in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is relying on low prices, shipping promotions and product selection to maintain growth in a recession. The company outpaced the rest of the e- commerce market over the past two years and thats likely to continue, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Amazon.com had its biggest holiday sales ever, even as rival EBay Inc. posted its first quarterly decline.

“They have discounted heavily in order to maintain market share and drive revenue,” Fred Moran, an analyst at Stanford Group in Boca Raton, Florida, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Given the environment, that might be the right way to go.”

Amazon.com rose $6.40 to $56.40 in late trading after closing at $50 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares dropped 45 percent last year.

First Quarter

First-quarter net revenue will rise to between $4.53 billion and $4.93 billion, an increase of as much as 19 percent, the company said. Analysts had estimated sales of $4.55 billion. Operating income will be between $125 million and $210 million.

Analysts had estimated profit of 38 cents a share in the fourth quarter, according to the Bloomberg survey.

U.S. online retail sales growth will slow this year to 11 percent, or $156 billion, from 13 percent last year, according to Forrester Research Inc.

Amazon.com sells products in more than three dozen categories, ranging from power tools to musical instruments. Once just a book seller, the company opened a site last year that offers more than 300,000 parts and accessories for motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.

Bezos also has expanded sales of digital media, such as music and video files. The company introduced the Kindle electronic-reading device in 2007 to encourage book, magazine and newspaper downloads. Kindles have sold out for two straight years ahead of the holiday shopping season.

EBay Results

Amazon.com will probably keep discounting goods this year, at the expense of profit, as it tries to fuel sales and ward off competition, Tim Boyd, an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech, said in a report.

“Amazon has a tough decision to make in 2009,” Boyd said. “Will it attempt to grow its top line come hell or high water, or will it instead try to preserve its gross margin? It cannot do both.”

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