Netflix has seen profits drop, but its UK launch has exceeded expectations, according to its latest financial figures.The US-based DVD rental and video streaming service posted fourth-quarter net profit down from $47.1m a year ago to $40.7m.
CEO Reed Hastings said the company’s recent UK launch had “greatly exceeded expectations”, and total subscriptions had risen to 24.4m, up 25% on a year ago and 600,000 more than Q3. Revenues rose from $596m a year ago to $876m.
Hastings brushed off concerns about rival services, saying: “Both Amazon and Hulu Plus’s content is a fraction of our content, and we believe their respective total viewing hours are each less than 10% of ours.”
Netflix shares rose by almost 16% to $110.12 following the results.