Hiring business drives LinkedIn revenue beat

REUTERS - Corporate networking site LinkedIn Corp reported a higher-than-expected 44 percent jump in quarterly revenue as more business used its services to assess candidates for employment.

The company's shares were up 6 percent in extended trading.

LinkedIn's hiring business has been thriving, clocking revenue growth of nearly 50 percent in each of the past three quarters, helped by rapid expansion in international markets such as China.

Revenue in LinkedIn's hiring business, called Talent Solutions, jumped 41 percent to $369.3 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, accounting for 57 percent of the company's revenue.

The company's net income fell to $3.1 million, or 2 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, from $3.8 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 61 cents per share.

Revenue rose to $643.4 million from $447.2 million.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 53 cents per share on revenue of $616.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

LinkedIn also forecast an adjusted profit of $2.95 per share for 2015, above the average analyst estimate of $2.73.

The company's shares closed at $237.97 on Thursday.

(Reporting By Sai Sachin R and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)