Facebook nets one-fifth of population as revenues soar

Facebook’s revenues have jumped to $4.5 billion (£2.9bn) as its number of global users grew to a record 1.55 billion.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. Picture: AP

Third-quarter revenues at the social media giant were 40 per cent higher than the $3.2bn announced in the same period last year.

Advertising revenue was the key driver behind the performance, growing 45 per cent year-on-year to $4.3bn. Net income for the three months to September was up 11 per cent to $891 million.

The growth in advertising revenue was made possible by the fact that Facebook continues to attract more users. Its total of 1.55 billion monthly active users – equivalent to almost a fifth of the world’s population – is 14 per cent higher than a year ago and the site now averages more than a billion users every day.

A total of 1.39 billion access the site each month on their mobile devices, 894 million of these on a daily basis.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg welcomed the results and said the firm would continue its focus on growing video.

“We had a good quarter and got a lot done,” he said. “We are focused on innovating and investing for the long term to serve our community and connect the entire world.”

“Over the next few years, video is going to be important – and we want to become one of the best places to share it.”