Meta’s ad revenue in India rises 74% in FY22

Social media giant Meta clocked gross advertising revenue of Rs 16,189 crore or around $2 billion for FY22 in India, a rise of 74 per cent year-on-year (YoY), according to the company’s filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The company’s total profit before tax grew by 116% YoY to Rs 440 crore, while its net profit grew by 132% YoY to Rs 297 crore.

In FY21, Facebook India Online Services, as the company is registered in India, had reported gross advertising revenues of Rs 9,326 crore, a jump of 41 per cent YoY.

Advertising is the principal source of revenue for Meta's three platforms — WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram — in India. The company operates on an ad reseller model in the country.

India is the company’s biggest market. According to the IT ministry, as of February 2021, WhatsApp had 530 million users in India, Facebook had 410 million users and Instagram had 210 million users.

In February this year, when Facebook reported its first-ever quarterly drop in daily users, its finance chief identified higher mobile data costs as a unique obstacle slowing growth in India. It also observed that women were shunning the network due to safety and privacy concerns. An internal research revealed other obstacles like nudity content, the perceived complexity of its app design, local language and literacy barriers and a lack of appeal among internet users seeking video content.