According to TechCrunch, Facebook may become a victim of its own success. With a 118 percent in growth in unique million visitors - from 74 million unique visitors per month a year ago to 161 million uniques per month now (according to comScore) - the company is still not profitable. Which means it may need a substantial cash injection sooner rather than later to continue.

TechCrunch reports that with 750 employees and an estimated $10 million monthly payroll, along with $1 million per month for electricity, $500,000 per month for bandwidth, up to $2 million for each NetApp 3070 storage system it’s buying on a weekly basis, $15 million per year in office and data center rent payments, and $100 million earmarked for 50,000 servers… it all adds up to annual expenses of $200 million or more.

And while Facebook’s 2008 estimated revenue is $265 million, the company is still losing money at current revenues, with no assurance that revenue growth will meet or exceed the growth in costs.

Writes Michael Arrington:

“If revenues don’t grow substantially, the company’s runway of cash gets much shorter. 2008 revenues are likely $100 million less than the company anticipated a year ago. If the economic train really derails, Facebook could be in big trouble.”

If Facebook has spent most of the $500 million it has raised to date… and revenues don’t substantially increase… the company will need further funding. Which, according to Michael Arrington, it should grab as soon as possible.

Source: Michael Arrington, “Facebook May Be Growing Too Fast. And Hitting The Capital Markets Again”, TechCrunch, October 31, 2008