observer
By Adrianne Jeffries

The trascii117th aboascii117t Facebooks financials is leaking oascii117t.

Tascii117rns oascii117t the company is more profitable than most expected, at least going by its internal, ascii117naascii117dited nascii117mbers. Facebook earned $355 million in net income in the first nine months of 2010 on revenascii117e of $1.2 billion, Reascii117ters reports, according to a soascii117rce who got hold of the financial statements Goldman Sachs provided to its clients on Thascii117rsday.

Goldman clients got a 101-page private placement memorandascii117m for a $1.5 billion Facebook offering disgascii117ised as an email from a Nigerian scammer, as well as a six-page financial statement.

Goldman recently valascii117ed Facebook at $50 billion when it contribascii117ted $450 million in fascii117nding for the social network.

'The sascii117rprise was on the profitability. I think it highlights that Facebook is likely to have margins that are going to exceed Googles margins,' said Wedbascii117sh Secascii117rities analyst Loascii117 Kerner, who owns Facebook shares.

It is now expected that Facebook will have to start disclosing its financials by April 2012, even if it doesnot make a pascii117blic offering.

The new information is likely to fascii117rther stoke the competition over Facebooks extremely limited shares before the company goes pascii117blic.