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With strong quarter growth, Facebook hits over 1 bn users

The company now has 1.71 billion monthly active users, adding 60 million users from the previous quarter and growing its user base by 15% from the same quarter a year earlier.

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Total advertising revenue surged 63 percent to $6.24 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $5.80 billion, according to market research firm FactSet StreetAccount.

Advertising on mobile devices accounted for 84 per cent of Facebook’s $6.2 billion in advertising sales, Wall Street Journal reported.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company was particularly pleased with the growth in video.

On mobile, where Facebook was once thought to be be struggling, the company now has 1.57 billion monthly active users, up 20% year-over-year.

Facebook investors are going to be very, very happy.

While mobile continues to grow, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized his optimism about video: “Our community and business had another good quarter”, he said in a statement.

Facebook now sees two billion searches per day, up from 1.5 billion a year ago. However, Facebook doesn’t plan to rush to monetize search.

In this update: Facebook announced another exceptional quarter of growth, with profit climbing almost 200 per cent from this time previous year.

Meanwhile, Facebook still has several untapped areas for revenue opportunities, including its WhatsApp and Messenger apps, both of which have more than 1 billion users.

Even Facebook’s most criticized moves have paid off. Zuckerberg said time spent on Instagram increased after switching to an algorithmic feed.

David Wehner, Facebook’s chief financial officer, pointed to Asia-Pacific, especially India, as one of the most promising areas for continued user growth. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 82 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the social media giant climbed almost 7 per cent in after-hours trading.

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In the second quarter the company’s revenue rose by 59 percent to $6.44 billion, compared to a year ago, while net income jumped by 186 percent to $2.05 billion.

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