San Francisco (AFP)

Facebook, coming out almost unscathed from its first quarter under the sign of the coronavirus, is preparing for a more pronounced drop in advertising revenue, but above all has its eyes turned to the "opportunities" that present themselves for the tech giants in favor of crisis.

"There are a lot of things to build during periods like this, so rather than slowing down as much as many companies could do, it's important to keep investing in new needs," said Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of the social network, during the conference call on the results of the past quarter.

"It is a matter of opportunity and responsibility," he added.

From January to March, Facebook posted $ 17.7 billion in revenue, up 18% year-on-year, for nearly $ 5 billion in net profit.

What reassure investors: the title of the social media giant took almost 10% after the close of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Three billion people now use at least once a month one of the group's four platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger), said the founder.

"Obviously, I would have wished (to pass this course) in different circumstances and I do not expect this peak in usage to continue," he acknowledged. "But I believe that we are witnessing an acceleration of pre-existing trends, such as private online communications."

- Potential -

In fact, the market leader has already started to take into account the evolution of uses, such as the explosion of video calls (they doubled on the two messaging services) or live broadcasts (which also doubled on the two networks. ... In a week).

Facebook launched last week a new service, Messenger Rooms, which allows you to create virtual "rooms" to "take a break" with friends - a promising tool in the age of aperitifs on Zoom, the star videoconferencing software from "Large containment".

The announcements of massive layoffs follow one another, but the Californian company will recruit 10,000 people.

The platform must continue to offer attractive advertising products to encourage businesses to spend despite the economic crisis. On WhatsApp, for example, so far the only application free of ads.

"WhatsApp represents a huge opportunity: two billion people use it and we have not yet made any significant efforts to develop + WhatsApp Business + (a tool for SMEs)," said Mark Zuckerberg.

The group's electronic equipment activity - essentially the range of Portal connected screens and Oculus virtual reality headsets - also strengthened its potential. It jumped 80% in one year, to $ 297 million.

Oculus Quest, the latest addition, "exceeded our expectations. I wish we could make more, faster!" Enthused the boss.

- Contraction -

In the shorter term, Facebook must however focus on reducing the marketing budgets of its customers.

The last three weeks of March were marked by an abrupt drop in demand from advertisers. The average advertising price fell 16% over the quarter.

"The impact has not been uniform. We have witnessed a marked growth in video games, and a relative stability for technologies and e-commerce, which are among our largest sectors," said Sheryl Sandberg, the group's operations manager.

On the travel and automotive side, however, the decline is "significant," she said.

Like Google Tuesday, the other big player in online advertising, Facebook does not risk a forecast for the second quarter.

"We are cautious given that most economists predict a global contraction (...) which could translate into an even more severe contraction in the advertising industry," said David Wehner, chief financial officer.

"Companies will reopen at different speeds in different countries and even within countries, like the United States. It will be incredibly difficult for a company like Facebook to regain momentum in advertising sales," says Debra Aho Williamson, analyst at eMarketer.

No question for Mark Zuckerberg to join the calls of businessmen pleading for the end of containment in order to save the economy.

"I fear that the economic benefits will be worse than anticipated," he said. "But despite the massive societal costs associated with current health measures, I worry that some places will reopen too quickly, before infection rates have been reduced enough to prevent further outbreaks (of the virus ) ".

© 2020 AFP