Facebook posts earnings of USD64m in Q4 

(MENAFN) Facebook Inc. announced that its earnings in the fourth quarter declined by 79 percent to USD64 million, compared with USD302 million a year before, when the world's largest social media firm was still a privately held company, reported AP.

In the October-December period, revenue surged 40 percent to USD1.59 billion, up from USD1.13 billion in 2011's same period, exceeding analysts' forecasts of a USD1.51 billion revenue.

Meanwhile, advertising revenue reached USD1.33 billion, representing an increase of 41 percent from a year earlier, also posting a faster pace than in the third quarter, when it grew 36 percent to USD1.09 billion.

USD306 million, or 23 percent of the company's advertising revenue came from mobile, compared with 14 percent in the previous quarter.

The Menlo Park, California-based firm noted that 2013 will be a year of major investments, and hiring will grow as the company focuses on long-term growth.

In 2012, Facebook had 4,600 employees, a figure that is 44 percent higher from the end of 2011.

According to CFO David Ebersman, total expenses are forecasted to rise by almost 50 percent during the current year, up from USD2.83 billion in 2012, which represented a surged of 63 percent from 2011.