Facebook profit jumps as user ranks grow

Facebook on Wednesday reported that its quarterly profit leapt 71 percent from a year ago to $3.9 billion as it dished out money-making ads to its more than two billion users.

Revenue in the recently-ended quarter climbed 45 percent to $9.3 billion, Facebook said in a stronger-than-expected earnings report for the second quarter.

Facebook shares that ended the day slightly up rose less than a percent to $166.95 in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings figures.

"We had a good second quarter and first half of the year," said Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.

"Our community is now two billion people and we're focusing on bringing the world closer together."

The number of people using Facebook at least once a month was 2.01 billion at the end of June, an increase of 17 percent from the same time last year, according to the leading social network.

The vast majority of Facebook's revenue came from advertising, and 87 percent of that was derived from ads served to people connecting with mobile devices.

Facebook expenses, meanwhile, rose 33 percent to $4.9 billion as the Silicon Valley giant continued investing in its platform and new innovations.