Facebook reports revenues up over 50% in last quarter

Facebook has reported a better-than-expected 51.7% jump in revenue for the final quarter of 2015 as new advertising formats and an improved mobile app drove a sharp rise in ad sales.

The company’s revenue rose to $5.84b from $3.85bn (€5.36bn €3.5bn) a year earlier, with ad revenue increasing 56.8% to $5.64bn in the holiday shopping period, when spending on advertising typically spikes.

Facebook, whose shares were up 6% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, said mobile ads accounted for 80% of total ad revenue in the quarter, compared with about 78% in the third quarter and 69% a year earlier.