Facebook is set to warn of a hit to profits as it feels the first financial effects of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Investors are braced for the social network to warn of an increase in spending on Wednesday, as it attempts to get a grip on the scandals enveloping the company.

Last month, it emerged that millions of Facebook users had their personal data collected without their consent and passed to the British election consultants Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook has since revealed that 87m people may have been affected, and promised a series of reforms to regain trust after a heavy drop in its share price.

The scandal only emerged in the second half of March, so any fallout is unlikely to show in the closely-watched user numbers when Facebook reports results for the first quarter of the year.