eBay has reported fourth quarter revenue that is narrowly ahead of expectations, thanks in part to shopping via mobile devices.

Its full-year results also reflected growing mobile usage with the company’s online marketplace handling $13 billion in mobile transactions during 2012, which was more than double the 2011 figure.

The company’s PayPal unit processed almost $14 billion in mobile payments in 2012, more than triple the previous year.

eBay predicts the online marketplace and PayPal will both see more than $20 billion in mobile transactions in 2013.

“Mobile is becoming the new normal,” said John Donahoe, eBay’s chief executive (pictured).

Many mobile users were using the auction site for the first time. During 2012, more than 4.3 million new users came to eBay via mobile devices.

Overall, eBay reported quarterly revenue up 18 per cent to $3.99 billion with profits of $927 million. For the full-year, the company’s revenue grew by 21 per cent to $14.1 billion with a profit of $3.1 billion.

However, although the company just topped analysts’ estimates for the fourth quarter, its prediction for Q1 2013 revenue of $3.65 billion to $3.75 billion were below analyst projections of $3.8 billion.

Earlier this week, PayPal announced that the number of retailers at which its users can make in-store payments has grown to 23. It also announced that it is working with NCR, the US vendor that makes ATMs and point-of-sale technology. Their agreement means PayPal will be one of the options offered to consumers in restaurants, convenience stores and restaurants that use NCR technology.