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Auction website eBay has announced a profit increase of 24 per cent in its final quarter 2006 results.

The auction website released both its final quarter and full year figures, announcing net revenues of $6 billion (£3 billion) for the full year, a 31 per cent increase over the $4.6 billion (£2.4 billion) generated in 2005. Net income was $1.5 billion (£750 million) for the full year.

The profit has translated to $1.05 (£0.58) per diluted share on the market.

"[The fourth quarter] was an excellent quarter for eBay, bringing 2006 to a very good close," chief executive Meg Whitman commented.

"All three of the company's business units delivered impressive results this quarter, including record net revenues from our marketplaces business, strong total payment volume on PayPal, and a triple-digit increase in the number of Skype users."

The website allows users to place items they own for auction, with the sellers co-ordinating the logistics of delivering the sold item and the website charging a fee for listing the item on the service.

Skype, an online firm that allows customers to utilise voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) internet phoning, was purchased by eBay last year for $2.6 billion (£1.32 billion)

For 2007, eBay is now expecting to increase revenues with an expected net revenue for the full year of $7 billion (£3.5 billion).

With its 2006 results, the company also announced an increase of its stock repurchase programme. The company repurchased around 31 million shares during 2006, and may repurchase around another $300 million (£151 million) in company stock throughout 2007.