Twitter shares soar despite £86m loss

Twitter shares have risen sharply despite widening losses revealed in the company's second-quarter earnings report.

Markets were buoyed by an increase in users and a rise in income from advertising .The social network now has 271 million active users, which represents an increase of 24 per cent from the previous year, while advertising revenue was up 129 per cent, to $277m (£163m).

While quarterly losses trebled to $145m (£86m), shares in Twitter rose by more than 30 per cent in after-hours trading to $49.61.

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"Our strong financial and operating results for the second quarter show the continued momentum of our business," said Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo, quoted by Sky News.

"We remain focused on driving increased user growth and engagement, and by developing new product experiences, like the one we built around the World Cup, we believe we can extend Twitter's appeal to an even broader audience."

This was Twitter's first earning report since Anthony Noto was appointed chief financial officer of the company.

He said, "I came here with one belief, that we can build the largest audience in the world."