FACEBOOK'S profit in the first quarter of this year rose as it challenged Google and Apple for revenue from mobile ads and apps.
Mobile advertising helped Facebook boost its first-quarter profit by 58 per cent from a year ago to $US217 million ($A212.08 million) and to lift revenues beyond market forecasts, in results released on Wednesday.
Facebook said its monthly active users rose 23 per cent from a year ago to 1.11 billion, including 751 million who accessed the network on mobile devices.
Mobile ads accounted for 30 per cent of advertising revenue for the quarter.
The profit was just below market forecasts but revenues were better than expected, rising 38 per cent from a year ago to $US1.46 billion.
"We've made a lot of progress in the first few months of the year," said Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.
"We have seen strong growth and engagement across our community and launched several exciting products."
Company highlights included the launch of Facebook Home software, which puts the social network centre stage on Android-powered smartphones, and the launch of a set of new ad products.
Facebook's share of the overall US online advertising market is expected to rise to 6.5 per cent this year from 5.9 per cent in 2012, according to industry tracker eMarketer.
The overall US digital ad market meanwhile surged 14.8 per cent to $US9.64 billion in the first quarter of this year, it reported.
Spending on advertising on mobile devices in the United States is expected to rise to $US7.29 billion this year, with Facebook's share growing to 13.2 per cent, eMarketer said.
A key question for Facebook is its Home software suite for mobile phones, which received a lukewarm response.
The software weaves the social network into the homescreen of phones powered by the latest versions of Android to focus on "people and not apps."
As of Wednesday, Google's online Play shop indicated that Home had been downloaded fewer than 15,000 times and its overall rating was two stars on a five-star scale.
"Good start/idea but it needs more options and features," one Home user said in a review.
The software, which allows users to see Facebook's Cover Feed when they turn on their phones, became available for download in the US on April 12.
It should be available in Europe in the coming months.
"This is just the first release," Zuckerberg said.
"Over the next few months we hope to push this out much more broadly."
Facebook aims to improve the quality and targeting of ads shown to members connecting from smartphones or tablets.
The strategy includes using Facebook as a platform for the distribution of third-party apps from Apple's App Store or Google Play.
"Facebook should be a place you can come to spread your apps," Zuckerberg said.
"Think how big an opportunity mobile apps can be for Facebook."
Facebook last week revealed that it was buying Parse, a startup specialising in powering mobile applications, as part of its drive to make the social network friendlier to smartphones and tablet computers.
Online reports valued the deal at $US85 million.
