Twitter reported its strongest growth in monthly active users in more than a year and a much better than expected quarterly profit, despite stiff competition from Facebook and Snapchat, sending its shares up 11%. The micro-blogging service said average monthly active users increased 6% to 328-million in the first quarter from a year earlier. Analysts, on average, had expected 321.3-million, according to market research firm FactSet StreetAccount. Revenue fell 7.8% to $548.3m, its first drop since its initial public offering. Net loss narrowed to $61.6m, or 9c a share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $79.7m, or 12c a share, a year earlier. Twitter’s user growth has stalled in the past few quarters and the company has been trying to convince advertisers it will strengthen its user base. As part of its efforts, the company has updated its product offerings, including live video broadcasts from its app, and launched new features to attract users. Twitter’s weak performance has...
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