Twitter warned it faced booking an operating loss for Q1 due to the negative impact on its global advertising revenue caused by the ongoing Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

In an investor statement, the company said it was ditching its previous guidance for operating income and revenue, along with its outlook for expenses, stock-based compensation, headcount, and capex.

It prediced Q1 revenue to be “down slightly on a year-over-year basis”, though admitted the near-term financial impact of the pandemic was difficult to measure. It also said reduced expenses were unlikely to completely offset the hit on sales.

The social media giant, however, noted a 23 per cent year-on-year spike in average monetisable daily active users in the quarter to date, to 164 million, driven by global “conversation about Covid-19 as well as ongoing product improvements”.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said the platform’s work “has never been more critical”.

“We’re seeing a meaningful increase in people using Twitter, and our teams are demonstrating incredible resilience adapting to this unprecedented environment.”

He pledged the company would enhance its service and adjust to “a new operating and economic environment.”

CFO Ned Segal expressed confidence in Twitter’s strategy despite the outbreak, noting a strong start of the year prior to the effects of Covid-19 on its advertising revenue.

It plans to release official figures for the quarter on 30 April.