Facebook reports $157 mn loss in Q2

MUMBAI: Facebook reported a net loss of $157 million for the second quarter ended 30 June against a net profit of $240 million a year earlier.

Facebook?s revenue for the second quarter totaled $1.18 billion, up 32 per cent from $895 million in the second quarter of 2011. Its advertising revenue was $992 million, representing 84 per cent of total revenue and a 28 per cent increase from the same quarter last year. Payments and other fees revenue for the second quarter was $192 million.

The US-based company said its costs and expenses were $1.93 billion, an increase of 295 per cent from the second quarter of 2011, driven primarily by share-based compensation expense.

The loss from operations was $743 million in the second quarter, against income from operations of $407 million a year earlier.

Capital expenditures for the quarter were $413 million, a 213 per cent year-on-year increase. Additionally, $52 million of equipment was procured or financed through capital leases during the second quarter of 2012.

Cash and marketable securities grew to $10.2 billion, which includes $6.8 billion in net proceeds from our initial public offering.

"Our goal is to help every person stay connected and every product they use be a great social experience. That?s why we?re so focused on investing in our priorities of mobile, platform and social ads to help people have these experiences with their friends," said Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook?s Monthly active users (MAUs) were 955 million as of June 30, 2012, an increase of 29 per cent year-over-year. Daily active users (DAUs) were 552 million on average while Mobile MAUs were 543 million.

During the quarter, Facebook rolled out a new Facebook Camera app for iPhone, an improved version of the mobile messenger app for both iOS and Android, and several updates to the Facebook Android app.

The social networking major also launched global App Center where users can discover relevant apps for mobile and web. Apple announced plans for a deep Facebook integration throughout the next version of Apple?s iOS and OSX.

The company rolled out sponsored stories in News Feed and enabled advertisers to buy sponsored stories in mobile News Feed. Facebook now has independent ROI data from more than 60 advertising campaigns using a variety of third-party methodologies like panels and marketing mix models.