2.1billion users push Facebook to record sales of £88 a second

FACEBOOK last night revealed its sales rose by nearly half to a staggering £28.7bn in 2017 – the equivalent of £88 every second.

The social network, headed by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, said £9.1bn of the total was brought in during the last three months to December 31.

It also said the number of people using its platform every month rose to an estimated 2.1bn – nearly a third of the world’s estimated population.

But shares still fell 4pc, to around $187 in after-hours trading, following Zuckerberg’s admission that changes made to the social network led to people spending 50m hours less on the service each day.

Microsoft, the world’s third-biggest company, also revealed revenue of £20.4bn for the quarter – up 12pc on the previous year.

It came after a year that has seen tech firms thrust into the spotlight for their roles in controversies, including the spread of fake news, and extremist content online.

For Facebook, the attention has led to searching questions about its role in society and its impact on people’s mental health.

Zuckerberg said: ‘2017 was a strong year for Facebook, but it was also a hard one ... In 2018, we’re focused on making sure Facebook isn’t just fun to use, but also good for people’s well-being and for society.

‘We’re doing this by encouraging meaningful connections between people rather than passive consumption of content.’

The company’s sales figures beat forecasts by Wall Street analysts, who predicted a total of £28.3bn for the year. Overall sales were 47pc higher than in 2016. Most came from mobile advertising, which accounts for 89pc of Facebook’s advertising income. Instagram, the picture-sharing social network it owns, is also nearing 1bn users.

However, there are questions over the future of the company, with boss Mark Zuckerberg saying it wanted to focus less on commercial content and more on posts from people’s friends and family.

Meanwhile, Microsoft – which hit an all-time high on Monday – said its profits for its second quarter, also ending on December 31, had come to £6.1bn, an increase of 10pc. Wall Street observers had forecast revenue of £20bn. Its shares fell around 1pc, to $95, in after-hours trade.