Facebook revenue tops $1bn

Facebook revenue reached $1.2bn (£776.4m) for the first nine months of 2010, according to documents sent to investors.

The social network reportedly sent a 100-page document to Goldman Sachs, which invested in the social network earlier this week, that revealed it had revenues of $1.2bn and profits of $355m (£229.7m)in the period.

It is said investors that have seen the document suggest the better-than-expected return offers Facebook the chance to go public as early as April 2012. It is set to exceed the 500 investor threshold in 2011, which under US law means a company is forced to report financial data as if it were a listed company.

This week’s investment, which also included funding from Russian internet firm Digital Sky Technologies, valued Facebook at $50bn (£32.2bn) – higher than media and internet giants Ebay, Yahoo and Time Warner.

The social network is also reportedly increasing its staff. Last month, Facebook EMEA head of international business Christian Hernandez said it would be taking on European staff on the platform side and expanding its preferred developer programme to help agencies and developers create better campaigns.

This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk