Ubiquitous microblogging service Twitter has recorded a dismal set of accounts for its UK operation, notching up a negligible £16.5k profit in Britain.
It is unclear whether this meagre showing is an accurate reflection of the social media sites business however – or another example of a multinational shirking its tax obligations by artificially depressing its income.
The secretive firm is gearing up for a £6.8bn flotation in the US on the back of advertising sales projected to hit $545m this year (83% of which emanates from the US market) – and $807m by 2014.
Twitter has been flogging ‘promoted’ tweets in the UK since September 2011, signing up advertisers including Sky, BT, Eurostar, Electronic Games and Paramount Pictures UK.