San Francisco, Twitter on Thursday reported a 24 per cent growth in its average monetizable daily active users (mDAU) at 166 million for the first quarter of 2020, compared to 134 million in the same period last year.

The company beat the analysts' forecast on revenue, logging $808 million in Q1 which is up 3 per cent (year over year) despite COVID-19 pandemic settling in.

"In this difficult time, Twitter's purpose is proving more vital than ever. We are helping the world stay informed, and providing a unique way for people to come together to help or simply entertain and remind one another of our connections. We've delivered our strongest ever year over year mDAU growth," said Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

Advertising revenue totalled $682 million, up approximately $3 million year-over-year while ad engagements increased 25 per cent year-over-year.

"US revenue totaled $468 million, an increase of 8 per cent year-over-year and international revenue totaled $339 million, a decrease of 4 per cent year-over-year," the company said in a statement.

"Our task now is to make sure we retain that connection over the long term with the many people new to Twitter," said Dorsey.

Given the unprecedented uncertainty and rapidly shifting market conditions of the current business environment, Twitter said it will not provide quarterly revenue or operating income guidance for Q2.

"We are shifting resources and priorities to increase focus on our revenue products and reduce expense growth, ensuring our resources are allocated against our most important work," said Ned Segal, Twitter's CFO.

Average US mDAU were 33 million for Q1, compared to 28 million in the same period of the previous year and compared to 31 million in the previous quarter.

Average international mDAU for Twitter were 133 million for Q1, compared to 105 million in the same period of the previous year and compared to 121 million in the previous quarter.