Facebook profit down but revenues, user base grow

Facebook said April 22 that profit in the first quarter plunged 20 percent from a year ago but revenues got a lift from robust growth in mobile advertising.

The world's biggest social network also boosted the number of users to 1.44 billion, up 13 percent from a year earlier, including 1.25 billion people who access Facebook on mobile devices.
 
Net profit in the quarter for shareholders dropped to $509 million, amid hefty increases in spending on research and share-based compensation.
 
Overall revenues jumped 42 percent to $3.5 billion, led by advertising gains, slightly below Wall Street forecasts, as Facebook felt the impact of a strong dollar.
 
Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, revenue would have increased by 49 percent, the company said.
 
"This was a strong start to the year," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and chief executive.
 
"We continue to focus on serving our community and connecting the world."  

Zuckerberg noted that Facebook was seeing "strong growth in engagement around the world," suggesting that users are not turning away from the platform.
 
Facebook has been investing heavily in research and new projects, including a drone air fleet to deliver the Internet to remote areas of the world.
 
Earlier April 22, Facebook unveiled a new mobile application called Hello, which allows its users to see who is calling by searching the social network's vast base of members.
 
It also allows users to search for people and businesses on Facebook and call them using the app.
 
In its quarterly report, Facebook reported the bulk of its revenues came from advertising inserted in user feeds, especially on mobile devices.