Snap user number flat, but beats Wall St estimate

By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) - Snap Inc on Tuesday said the number of people using its Snapchat app was flat, beating Wall Street projections that the company would continue to lose users to rival Facebook Inc's Instagram.

The company said daily active users of its photo-messaging app in the fourth quarter remained unchanged at 186 million from the previous quarter, and down 1 million from the same period a year ago.

That beat analysts' average expectation of 184.91 million, according to Refinitiv data.

"We do not foresee a sequential decline in daily active users in Q1 2019," said Lara Sweet, Snap's interim chief financial officer, in prepared remarks. She gave no specific outlook on user numbers.

Snap's revenue, which it earns from selling advertising on the app, increased 36 percent to $389.8 million, beating Wall Street's average estimate of $377.52 million.

Average revenue per user was $2.09 during the fourth quarter, up from $1.53 in the year-ago quarter.

The company's net loss narrowed to $191.67 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with $349.98 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.

Snap has launched more video content with the aim of keeping hold of its users.

For the first quarter, Snap said it expects revenue of $285 million to $310 million. That compares with the average analyst estimate for revenue of $307 million, according to data from IBES Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang; Editing by Bill Rigby)