Profits at eBay increased by 28 per cent in the first quarter as turnover at the online auction company reached $1 billion for the first time.

The company said it traded more than $10 billion worth of goods, earning net profits of $256.3 million. That compared to $200 million in the same three-month period a year earlier.

Matching analyst forecasts, the results failed to eradicate concerns that the world’s biggest online marketplace is seeing a slowdown in growth as key markets such as the United States and Germany mature.

Fears that eBay could struggle to maintain its explosive expansion rates have led to the shares falling more than 40 per cent in the past year. After the results' release, the stock gained 1 per cent before falling back to trade flat in after-hours trade in New York. The shares had gained around 3 per cent ahead of the figures.

Analysts noted that the 36 per cent year-on-year net revenue growth eBay posted in the first quarter had fallen from 44 per cent in the previous quarter.

"The fundamentals weakened but did not fall off a cliff," Mark Mahaney of American Technology Research told Reuters.

Commenting on the German market, chief executive Meg Whitman said: "We are currently seeing slower growth than we would like", adding "a record jump in registered users, record GMV (gross merchandise volume), tremendous PayPal growth, and record net revenues all highlighted a wonderful quarter for eBay.

"The eBay community is thriving and we’re in an excellent position to deliver on both the top line and profit goals we’ve set out for 2005 and beyond."

The company, which claims more than 100 million registered users, said it expects to generate sales of between $4.27 billion and $4.36 billion in 2005, in line with analysts’ forecasts.

The auctioneer is also aiming to grow its PayPal product for making online payments.

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