Snap gained 15 million daily active users (DAUs) in Q2, its highest number of net additions in three years, reaping the rewards of strategic updates to its messaging app.

The company ended the quarter with 203 million DAUs, up from 188 million in Q2 2018.

During an earnings call, CFO Derek Andersen attributed much of the growth to the release of new AR Lenses as part of an overhaul of its Android app in April, which he said attracted between 7 million and 9 million new and lapsed users. He chalked up the remaining increase in users to underlying growth trends.

CEO Evan Spiegel said: “Augmented reality has become a daily behaviour for the vast majority of our community because Snapchat opens into the camera.”

Since rolling out the revamped Android app in late April, Spiegel said Snap generated a more than 10 per cent increase in retention among first-time users, adding new users on the updated app are sending 7 per cent more messages than those on the old version.

He noted improvements to the company’s advertising platform made it easier for Snap to generate revenue from this increased user engagement.

“Now that we have built a strong underlying foundation for our service, we are well-positioned to continue investing in key areas like our content platform, our augmented reality platform, and our gaming platform”.

Financials
Revenue grew 48 per cent year-on-year to $388 million, up from $262 million in the year-ago quarter.

Profit remained elusive, but the company continued to narrow its net loss, which came in at $255 million for the quarter compared with $352 million in Q2 2018.

In Q3, Andersen said Snap expects revenue of between $410 million and $425 million, with DAUs growing slightly to between 205 million and 207 million.