Facebook said Wednesday that quarterly profit climbed to an all-time record 6.9
billion U.S. dollars as it boosted its global user base despite scandals that have dented the
leading social network's image.
Revenue soared 30 percent from a year ago to 16.9 billion U.S. dollars while the number of people using Facebook monthly rose nine
percent to 2.32 billion, the company said in its fourth quarter update.
Net
profit for Facebook, which makes most of its money from online advertising, was
up a strong 61 percent from the same period last year.
"Our community and
business continue to grow," co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said
in an earnings call.
Facebook shares jumped 11.5 percent to 167.67 U.S. dollars in
after-market trades that followed release of the earnings.
The latest update
showed Facebook increased its user base both in the United States and Europe,
where the social network has faced challenges over data protection scandals.
Facebook has pledged to hire thousands of
employees and invest in new technologies to respond to concerns about
manipulation and abuse, and to take data protection more seriously.
The number
of employees as of December 31 was 35,587, an increase of 42 percent
year-over-year.
"We've fundamentally changed how we run our company to focus on
the biggest social issues, and we're investing more to build new and inspiring
ways for people to connect," Zuckerberg said.
But analysts say the trust issue is
crucial for Facebook if it wants to move forward in its mission to connect the
world.
Facebook estimated that approximately 2.7 billion
people use its "family" of services including Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger,
and its core social network.
The company faces demographic challenges as
younger users shift to other platforms, seeing Facebook as less cool than it
once was.
Visual social network Instagram has been a bright spot for Facebook,
with use and revenue rising.
Analysts are watching to see how well Facebook's
other services, including Instagram, messaging services WhatsApp and Messenger
and its Oculus virtual reality division, play into its fortunes.
"Messaging is
an area that is growing most quickly, and this year people are going to feel
these apps becoming the center of their social experience in more ways,"
Zuckerberg said.
Facebook is working to let people send messages to one another
no matter which of the company's messaging apps they are using, with an
increasing emphasis on making content encrypted and ephemeral, according to
Zuckerberg.
As it approaches its 15th anniversary, Facebook has been able to
keep revenue momentum thanks to its unique advertising model that allows
marketers to reach specific segments of users.
More than 90 million small
businesses use Facebook, according to the social network.
Zuckerberg has
consistently defended the social network's business of keeping the service free
by targeting ads based on interests, adamant the social network does not sell
people's data.
"The internet is a massive force for change, and we are at the
center of a lot of the debates that brings," Zuckerberg said. "I do feel like we
have started to turn a corner and have a clear plan for what we need to do here
now."
Source(s): AFP