Snapchat shares climb as user numbers return to growth

Shares in Snapchat's parent company Snap have surged after the app grew user numbers for the first time in three quarters.

The stock was up by as much as 12% in after-hours trading on Wall Street as it also beat revenue expectations for the first quarter to the end of March.

Snap said the number of daily active users on Snapchat rose to 190 million from 186 million three months earlier, though the figure was slightly down on 191 million a year ago.

The photo-messaging app is battling stiff competition from rival Instagram, owned by Facebook.

Snap's latest results were helped by the popularity of original video shows made for Snapchat and the launch of a new Android app.

The company has also this month launched a gaming platform within the Snapchat app.

Chief executive Evan Spiegel said: "In the first quarter we delivered strong results across our business with growth in daily active users and revenue.

"Our new Android application is available to everyone, with promising early results.

"This month we announced several new products that we believe will drive further engagement and monetisation."

Snap's user numbers beat Wall Street estimates of 187 million and revenues were up 39% compared to the same period last year, to $320m - also better than the average analysts' estimate of $307m.

That was helped by new ad formats including unskippable commercials on the original shows hosted on the Discover page of the Snapchat app.

The company remained in the red, though narrowing its quarterly losses by 20% to $310m.