WASHINGTON: Twitter on Thursday reported its first-ever quarterly profit, a key milestone that sent shares soaring at the social network which has lagged for years behind fast-growing rivals.

Twitter shares leapt 18 per cent to $31.77 — their highest levels in over a year — as the San Francisco-based firm said it had earned $91 million in the fourth quarter, the first positive net income since going public in 2013.

Revenue was up two per cent from a year ago to a better-than-expected $732 million.

The number of monthly active users was 330 million, unchanged from the prior quarter but up four percent from a year earlier.

While Twitter has built a solid core base of celebrities, politicians and journalists, it has failed to match the broader appeal of Facebook and other social platforms, hurting its ability to bring in ad revenues.

Profitability is an important achievement for Twitter, which has lost money consistently since its public offering, sparking speculation on whether it needed to sell itself to keep operating.

Chief executive Jack Dorsey welcomed “a strong finish to the year,” and added “I’m proud of the steady progress we made in 2017, and confident in our path ahead.”

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2018