Facebook reports 12% drop in Q1 net income

PanARMENIAN.Net - Facebook's first-quarter net income has fallen by 12%, weighed down by higher expenses even as its revenue soared, the social networking company said, just a few weeks ahead of its expected initial public offering in May, Belfast Telegraph reported.

Facebook said in a regulatory filing that its net income fell to 205 million dollars (£128 million) in the three months that ended on March 31, from 233 million dollars (£145.6 million) a year earlier.

Net income attributable to common shareholders fell to 137 million from 153 million dollars. That amounts to earnings of nine cents per share in the latest quarter, down from 11 cents a year earlier.

The company said its revenue rose 45% to 1.06 billion dollars (£662 million).

Facebook said it had 901 million monthly active users as of March 31, up from 845 million as of the end of 2011.

The number of people using its mobile applications each month grew to 488 million as of the end of the quarter from 432 million as of the end of last year.

Users in Brazil, India and the U.S. were important sources of growth both on Facebook's website and on mobile devices.

Facebook also gave details on its pending billion-dollar acquisition of Instagram, the company behind a popular mobile photo-sharing application with the same name.

Facebook said it is paying 300 million dollars (£187.5 million) in cash and about 23 million shares for Instagram. It also agreed to pay Instagram a 200 million-dollar (£125 million) termination fee if the deal does not go through.

Facebook said it had applied to list its stock on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "FB".