Facebook revenue close to $800m in 2009

Facebook revenue may have neared $800m in 2009, almost double previously estimates, according to a report from Reuters.

Last July, Facebook board member Marc Andreessen told Reuters the company was on track to surpass $500 million in annual revenue for 2009. In September, Facebook said that it had become free cash flow positive, meaning that the company was generating enough cash to cover its operating expenses as well as its capital spending needs.

Estimates in various media reports had previously pegged the company’s 2009 revenue at $550 million to $700 million.

The two sources said revenue in 2009 was in fact $700 million to $800 million.

“They are downplaying their performance,” one source told Reuters, adding that 2009 revenue was more than double the previous year’s total. “There’s no upside in getting people’s expectations high, it’s always better to go low.”

If Facebook eventually seeks to go public, unveiling financial figures above expectations could help bolster investor interest.

Palo Alto, California-based Facebook, the booming social networking site dreamed up by Mark Zuckerberg and friends in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, is privately held and has previously released only very limited amounts of financial information.

It’s believed the company also earned a net profit, in the tens of millions of dollars last year, according to one of the report’s sources.