Twitter revenue misses estimates on weak ad spending

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc reported lower-than-expected revenue for the first quarter, hurt by weaker spending by big advertisers, and the microblogging service provider forecast current-quarter revenue well below analysts' expectations.

Twitter shares plunged nearly 11 percent to $15.83 in extended trading on Tuesday.

The company's user growth has been slowing as its complicated interface makes it less attractive to new users.

It has also been facing competition from Facebook Inc , which has rolled out services such as the Live video streaming program that rivals Twitter's Periscope.

Twitter's total average monthly active users rose to 310 million in the quarter ended March 31 from 305 million in the fourth quarter.

 

The company forecast revenue of $590 million-$610 million for the second quarter. Analysts on average were expecting $677.57 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (http://bit.ly/1pCISki)

First-quarter revenue rose 36 percent from a year earlier to $594.5 million, but widely missed the average analyst estimate of $607.8 million.

Its net loss narrowed to $79.7.million, or 12 cents per share, from $162.4 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Twitter earned 15 cents per share, beating the average estimate of 10 cents.

(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)