Amazon.com posted a first-quarter loss Tuesday that was smaller than Wall Street had expected. The Seattle-based company posted a pro forma net loss of $49m, or 21 cents per share, excluding investment and other nonoperating losses. A year ago, Amazon posted a pro forma loss of $99m, or 35 cents per share. Analysts expected Amazon to lose 25 cents per share, according to a survey by First Call. The company's numbers were helped by strong electronics sales that balanced out weakness in Amazon's books, video and music departments. "I see this as generally positive across the board," said Jeetil Patel, a financial analyst with Deutsche Banc Alex Brown. But noting that the company's books, music and video departments grew only about 2 percent year over year, Patel said that segment was a "key area to think about going forward". The company's stock closed the regular trading session on the Nasdaq down 52 cents, or about 3 percent, to $15.68. In after-hours trading on the Island ECN, Amazon's stock was up 32 cents to $16. Net loss for the period was $234m, or 66 cents per share, on revenue of $700m. That compares with a loss $308m, or 90 cents per share, on revenue of $574m in the same period in 2000. Earlier this month, in a preview of Tuesday's report, Amazon projected that its revenue would be higher and pro forma net loss lower than analysts had previously expected. The company said it expected to post a pro forma loss of less than $50m, or 22 cents per share, on net sales of more than $695m. Wall Street expected the company to post a 30-cents-per-share pro forma loss on about $670m in revenue before Amazon's preview. The company posted a gross profit margin of $183m, or 26 percent of revenue. Gross profit margin is the difference between what a company charges consumers for its goods and services and what its costs the company to provide those goods or services. In the same quarter last year, the company posted a profit margin of $128m, or 22 percent of sales. Amazon ended the quarter with $643m in cash and marketable securities. Including inventories and prepaid expenses, the company had $856m in assets. But the company also reported liabilities of $605m, leaving it with about $250m in working capital, a figure closely watched by its suppliers and analysts. In the year-ago quarter, Amazon had about $386m in working capital. The company's new businesses, including its electronics, tools and kitchen products stores, posted a pro forma operating loss of $45.8m on $116.5m in sales. In the year-ago quarter, that segment lost $67.2m on $74.6m in sales. Amazon's international operations grew significantly in the quarter, posting revenue of $132.1m compared with $75.1m last year. The pro forma operating loss on those operations also grew, rising from $27.4m last year to $34.6m. In contrast, Amazon's core media stores--its books, music and video departments -- saw sales grow just $8.2m, or 2 percent year over year. In the year-ago quarter, the company posted a pro forma operating loss of $2.4m on $401.4m in its media stores. In the first quarter of this year, Amazon posted $27.6m in income on $409.6m in sales in its media stores. See techTrader for technology investment news, plus quotes and research. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Click on the TalkBack button and go to the techTrader forum Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom. And read what others have said.