Facebook reported a record net profit for the second quarter, almost tripling that of a year earlier, as a surge in advertising sales drove a 59 percent jump in revenues over the period. Average revenue per user (ARPU) was USD 3.82 in the period, up 38.4 percent from USD 2.76 a year earlier.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company was particularly pleased with its progress in video as it moves towards a world where video is at the heart of all its services.
Net profit was USD 2.055 billion in the second quarter, up from USD 719 million a year earlier, and earnings per share were USD 0.71, up from USD 0.25.
Total revenue in the period rose to USD 6.436 billion from USD 4.042 billion in the same period of 2015, as advertising sales came in at USD 6.239 billion, up 63 percent from USD 3.827 billion a year earlier and offsetting an 8 percent drop in payments and other fees to USD 197 million.
Mobile advertising revenue took a share of around 84 percent of all advertising revenue in the second quarter, up from a share of around 76 percent a year earlier.
By region, ARPU both in terms of growth and of value was highest in the US and Canada at USD 14.34, up 54.2 percent from USD 9.30 a year earlier. European ARPU was USD 4.72, up 40.5 percent from USD 3.36 a year earlier, while in Asia-Pacific it was USD 1.77, up 37.2 percent from USD 1.29.
Facebook said daily active users (DAU) reached 1.13 billion on average in June, an increase of 17 percent year on year, of which mobile DAUs made up 1.03 billion on average, an increase of 22 percent. Monthly active users (MAU) were 1.71 billion as of June, an increase of 15 percent year on year, of which 1.57 billion were mobile users, an increase of 20 percent.
Facebook’s capital expenditure for the second quarter of 2016 totalled USD 995 million, widening from USD 549 million a year earlier.
The company had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totalling USD 23.29 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2016 and made a provision for tax of USD 711 million for the quarter, up from USD 554 million a year earlier, giving it an effective tax rate of 26 percent, down from 44 percent.
