Wednesday 16 January 2019 10:09 am | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 3:44 am

Snap loses its second finance chief in less than a year, following a string of executive exits

The chief financial officer of Snap is to resign after spending less than 12 months in the role, sending the social media platform's share price down more than eight per cent in after-hours trading.

Tim Stone, who joined Snap from Amazon in May, is only the latest executive to leave the parent company of photo-sharing app Snapchat. The firm has been plagued by a string of high-profile exits since it went public nearly two years ago, including the heads of its strategy, content, sales and human resources divisions among others.

Snap said in a filing that Stone's departure was "not related to any disagreement" with the firm on any matter relating to the company's finances or strategy, instead wishing to "pursue other opportunities". Stone will remain in his role until a replacement is found, which will include carrying the business through its next financial reporting announcement.

The exit comes as Snap attempts to bring itself back from the brink of heavily declining user numbers and volatile revenue intake. The firm said in October that it expects user numbers to have continued to fall in its most recent fourth quarter, which ended in December, representing its third consecutive quarterly decline in daily active users.

The number of daily active users on Snapchat dropped to 186m in the third quarter from 188m three months earlier, falling short of analyst estimates of 187.6m. Wall Street had previously been expecting user numbers to rise in December to hit almost 193m.

Snap said in yesterday's filing that it expects its results for the fourth quarter to be "slightly favourable to the top end" of its previous guidance. Stone said in October that the firm anticipated revenues of between $335m (£260.3m) and $380m, while losses would be between $75m and $100m.

Snap's share price has fallen around 50 per cent in the past year, and hit a record low of $4.99 last month – more than 70 per cent below its initial listing price. The company is currently the subject of a probe by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, after investors alleged Snap had failed to clarify the impact of Instagram's success on its own growth when it went public.

The company will report its next financial earnings, for the fourth quarter and for the past financial year as a whole, on 5 February.