Twitter pins hopes on future advertising as it attempts $1bn float

The company behind the global social network submitted its initial public offering (IPO) documents in the US, which outline its plans for the highly anticipated flotation.

Twitter said its site has 200 million monthly active users who produce 500 million tweets every day.

Although the company revealed it has incurred eye-watering operational losses – to the tune of $419m (£259m) – it said its revenue has grown rapidly and it expects that growth to continue.

Twitter said it believed it will be able to make money from advertising.

It said in the paperwork: “In the three months ended June 30, 2013, our advertising revenue per timeline view was 80 cents, which represents a 26 per cent increase from the three months ended June 30, 2012.

“In the three months ended June 30, 2013, our advertising revenue per timeline view in the United States was $2.17 and our advertising revenue per timeline view in the rest of the world was 30 cents, which represent increases of 26 per cent and 111 per cent from the three months ended June 30, 2012, respectively.”

Turning to its losses, it said in the documentation: “Since our inception, we have incurred significant operating losses, and, as of June 30, 2013, we had an accumulated deficit of $418.6m (£259m).

“Although our revenue has grown rapidly, increasing from $28.3m (£17.5m) in 2010 to $316.9m (£196m) in 2012, we expect that our revenue growth rate will slow in the future as a result of a variety of factors, including the gradual slowdown in the growth rate of our user base.”

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