Amazon's first-quarter profit, revenue beats estimates

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc reported first-quarter revenue and profit that topped analysts' estimates, driven by sustained growth in online retail sales and its profitable cloud business, sending its shares up more than 4 percent in extended trading on Thursday.

The world's biggest online retailer said net income rose to $724 million, or $1.48 per share, from $513 million, or $1.07 per share, a year earlier. This marks the eighth straight quarter Amazon has posted a net profit.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.12 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company's total net sales rose 22.6 percent to $35.71 billion in the quarter ended March 31, compared with the average analyst estimate of $35.30 billion.

Revenue from Amazon Web Services, the company's fast-growing cloud services business, rose 42.7 percent to $3.66 billion, matching the average analyst estimate, according to market research firm FactSet StreetAccount.

Amazon's net sales in North America, its biggest market, jumped 23.5 percent to $20.99 billion in the latest quarter.

The company said a stronger dollar impacted its overall sales by $492 million and that the quarter faced tough comparison with the year-ago quarter, when the Feb. 29 leap day gave shoppers an extra 24 hours to spend.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)