Facebook triples profits as advertising share rockets

Social media giant Facebook Inc reported a huge increase in its profits for the third quarter, thanks to a sharp jump in advertising revenues as traditional publishers see companies flocking to Mark Zuckerberg's site

Its profits almost tripled during the three-month period to September 30, to $2.38bn from $896m last year.

Total advertising revenue climbed 59% year-over-year according to the earnings report.

However, Facebook also made reference to the fact that it was likely to see a slowdown in its advertising growth in the next few months, as its share price fell 7% in after-hours trading.

Chief financial officer David Wehner said that ad revenue would "come down meaningfully" as the company enters the latter quarters of 2017.

CEO Zuckerberg said during a conference call with shareholders that the strong profits and advertising results owed a lot to the company's role during the run-up to the US presidential election.

"Facebook is the new town hall and we are proud of the role that we've played in increasing civic engagement," said Zuckerberg.

The sterling profits came as the company suffered some knock-backs during its third quarter, including overestimating how much its users had consumed video content during the last two years.