(Updated with details, background, share price)
by Yasmeen Abutaleb
SAN FRANCISCO, June 11 (Reuters) – Twitter announced Thursday the resignation of its CEO Dick Costolo, in office for six years and thus pays the price unecroissance taste too slow to investors.
The information has pushed the title microblogging site 7.7% to 38.60 dollars in after-hours trading to transactions on Wall Street but he then reduced his lead, falling to 37.54.
Dick Costolo, whose resignation will take effect on July 1, will remain a director of the company, said Twitter in a financial advice. (Http://1.usa.gov/1Gwr28k)
Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chairman of the board of Twitter, will serve as interim head of the group pending the appointment of a new CEO.
Dorsey, who had been CEO Twitter from May 2007 to October 2008, will retain his position in parallel CEO of Square, a mobile payments specialist he is also the founder.
The interim CEO said that the process of finding a new boss had not yet started but that it would necessarily be a daily Twitter user who “adore” the product.
In a statement, Dick Costolo said he was “immensely proud” of his six years at the head of Twitter and thanked the Board of Directors, management team and employees for their confidence.
“Unfortunately this is not a surprise,” said Nate Elliott, an analyst at Forrester Research. “The truth is that Twitter is not very good right now.”
In terms of growth of number of users, Twitter is far from other social networks like Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat.
“Twitter has never been very good to retain its users. While other sites have been able to improve their functions or launch new ones in recent years, Twitter has changed little. The result was growth in the number of desperately poor users, “said Nate Elliott.
The research firm eMarketer estimates that the basis of monthly Twitter users only progress by 14.1% this year, against more 30% two years ago.
A TARGET FOR GOOGLE?
In early June, Chris Sacca, one of the historical shareholders of Twitter, has published a manifesto of 8,500 words asking the site to better serve its users.
He praised acquisitions Periscope and TellAppart while noting that more than a billion Internet users tried Twitter and arrested.
recently asked by CNBC, Chris Sacca had said that Twitter would be a “perfect target” for Google if the Internet giant had to get involved.
Twitter has also been weakened in recent months by a series of defections betraying tensions in high places, like the departure last month of the Director Rachael Horwitz communication, part join Facebook.
Twitter reaffirmed its earnings forecast for the second quarter or a turnover of around 470-485 million (417-431 million euros) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA ) included between 97 and 102 million.
The first-quarter results had disappointed investors and the group was forced to revise down its forecast for the full year.
The share price was then marked the spot and, in the last 12 months, it only shows a modest increase of 1%.
At its closing price on Thursday to 35, 84 dollars, the action remains up 38% from its IPO price (26 dollars) November 7, 2013, but lost 52% of its value since its high of 74.73 dollars reached December 26, 2013.
Twitter has achieved in 2014 a turnover of 1.40 billion, against 28.3 million in 2010, the year of the appointment of Dick Costolo.
See also: BREAKINGVIEWS-Maybe Twitter’s next CEO will be Larry Page (with Anya George Tharakan Bangalore and Julia Love in San Francisco, Veronique Tison for the French service)
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