Currency corrections

From the quarterly results published by eBay, we could conclude that

• the revenue of Skype grew by 76% year to year
• registered user accounts grew over the same period by “only” 61 %

Therefore we could conclude that the revenue per user account has been rising.

However, although it is owned by eBay, Skype is still a European company. 83% of the revenue comes from outside the United States!

All Europeans know that the US$ has lost an important part of its value the last years compared to the Euro. Or is it the other way around: the Euro has become stronger? See for instance the currency exchange rate charts on Yahoo.

In the graph below, the Skype revenue is plotted as well in € (euro) as in US$.
We clearly see that the growth in € is lower than the equivalent in US$. “Only” 58% € growth year to year. Still a very good increase!

Now, what about the revenue per “user account” in €?
In US$ it is rising, BUT … in € the revenue per “user account” shows a decreasing tendency!
Who told me some months ago on this blog: “there are lies, big lies, and statistics”? ;-)