LinkedIn Q3 revenue jumps 37% on strong hiring, ad sales

Professional social networking company LinkedIn Corp. reported a 37 per cent jump in third-quarter revenue, helped by robust hiring activity and higher advertising income.

The California, US-based company said revenue for the quarter ended September 30 rose to $780 million from $568.3 million a year earlier.

The company reported earnings of 78 cents per share. It also raised its full-year guidance for revenue and earnings.

LinkedIn's recent efforts in revamping its products and investing in the education sector have seemingly contributed to its strong earnings.

Revenue from the talent-solutions business, LinkedIn's largest segment, rose 46 per cent to $502 million. The segment mainly serves corporate recruiters.

Revenue from the premium subscriptions business increased 20 per cent to $138 million while that from marketing solutions grew 28 per cent to $140 million. Online education business Lynda.com, which LinkedIn bought for $1.5 billion earlier this year, contributed $41 million to total sales.

The company's income from advertisements on its website grew 28 per cent and paid membership revenue rose 21 per cent.

Its net loss attributable to shareholders widened to $41 million, or 31 cents a share, in the third quarter as costs surged 46 per cent.

The company's US revenue surged 41 per cent from a year earlier to $484 million. Revenue from its international business rose 31 per cent to $295 million.

Total members rose 20 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier to 396 million and touched 400 million last week. This included nearly 13 million members in China, where it has tripled the number since launching a local language version of the website.

LinkedIn said 55 per cent of its traffic came from mobile app in this quarter, up from 53 per cent in the second quarter.

The company expects its fourth-quarter revenue in a range of $845 million and $850 million, and forecasts earnings per share of 74 cents. For the full year, it expects sales between $2.975 billion and $2.98 billion, higher than its May prediction of $2.9 billion, and earnings per share of $2.63, up from its $1.90 projection in May.

The company's shares increased as much as 12 per cent in after-hours trading.