LinkedIn says its revenues have doubled
LINKEDIN, the social network for professionals, last night beat Wall Street expectations to announce fourth quarter revenues of $167.7m (£105m) – up 105 per cent from a year earlier.
The majority of the growth came from LinkedIn’s recruitment arm, which now provides half the firm’s revenue after benefiting from improved jobs numbers in the crucial US market.
Net income remained low at $6.9m for the final quarter of 2011, up from $5.3m for the equivalent period last year.
The social network has had a mixed year as income shot up but investors became increasingly infuriated by a plummeting share price. A long awaited IPO in May saw stock climb to $109 before losing almost half its value in the ensuing months, prompting accusations that the company had been over-hyped.
Strong revenue growth is placating these fears and the firm says income will grow even more in 2012, targeting year end revenue of $840-860m.
Steve Sordello, LinkedIn’s chief financial officer, insisted that his firm would continue to focus on growth at the expense of profits: “In 2012, we will continue to invest in our product, engineering, and sales infrastructure to capitalise on our long-term opportunity.”
Shares surged up eight per cent to $82.65 in after hours trading.