Dialing for dollars

29 January 2014 By Robert Cyran Follow @rob_cyran

The $130 bln social network defied skeptics by generating over half its Q4 ad sales from portable devices, up from zero two years ago. The number of daily visitors is also quickly on the rise. Selling more ads is one thing, though. Making them targeted and unobtrusive is another.

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Facebook on Jan. 29 reported revenue of $2.6 billion for the fourth quarter, an increase of 63 percent from a year ago. The social network earned $523 million, or 20 cents a share, compared to $64 million, or 3 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

The company said it had 1.23 billion monthly users at the end of 2013, an increase of 16 percent year-on-year. The number of monthly mobile users increased 39 percent to 945 million.

Facebook said 53 percent of advertising revenue came from mobile ads in the fourth quarter versus 23 percent in fourth-quarter 2012.

The company’s shares rose more than 11 percent in aftermarket trading.

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