DHAKA: Social networking giant Facebook reported a 60% surge in revenue, to $2.02bn, in the third quarter, generating profits of $425m.

Revenue from advertising grew by 66% to $1.8bn, with nearly half of that coming from mobile ads.

‘The strong results we achieved this quarter show that we`re prepared for the next phase of our company,’ said Mark Zuckerberg in a statement, reports the BBC.

Facebook’s shares surged 15% in after hours trading.

Shares in the company have nearly doubled in value since July, when it first announced a big jump in its mobile advertising revenue.

The company has made a concerted push to boost its mobile offering, and now says that 874 million of the site’s more than one billion users access Facebook on their phone.

Speaking during a conference call, Zuckerburg called Facebook a ‘mobile company’ and noted more than half of people are only using Facebook from their phones.

‘It’s a pretty incredible sign of how Facebook has evolved as a company,’ he said.

BDST: 1437 HRS, OCT 31, 2013
RoR/RK