Facebook’s Australian revenue soars 16pc to $674m

Facebook Australia has reported double digital growth in advertising revenue as it faces ongoing pressure to share a portion of its income with news publishers.

The technology giant increased advertising revenue by 16 per cent to $673.9 million for the year ending December 31 and made a $22.7 million profit, according to documents filed with the corporate regulator.

Profit fell from $39.5 million in 2018 due to an income tax bill of $16.7 million.

In its report to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Facebook said it could not quantify the impact of the coronavirus crisis on its business, but added that would not disclose any expected results of the company to avoid “unreasonable prejudice”.

“The Company will continue to monitor and assess, but…does not expect a material adverse impact on its ability to continue as a going concern,” it said. “Further information on likely developments in the operations of the company and the expected results of operations have not been included in this annual report because the directors believe it would be likely to result in unreasonable prejudice to the company.”