Netflix posts mixed quarterly earnings

Source: Xinhua| 2019-01-18 11:01:29|Editor: WX
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NEW YORK, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The online streaming giant Netflix posted mixed quarterly earnings results after the market's close on Thursday.

The company posted earnings per share of 0.3 U.S. dollar, beating Wall Street estimates. Its quarterly revenue stood at 4.19 billion dollars, falling short of the 4.21 billion dollars forecast by Refinitiv.

In the fourth quarter, the streaming platform added 1.53 million domestic subscribers and 7.31 million international subscribers, both topping Wall Street estimates.

In a statement, Netflix said its free cash flow deficit increased to 1.32 billion dollars in the fourth quarter, bringing its cash burn up to 3 billion dollars for the full year in 2018.

The company has said that its cash burn is a long-term investment because the money goes into the original content it produces, which drives subscriber and revenue growth.

"We're making significant investments in productions all over the world because we have seen that great stories transcend borders," the company said in its shareholder letter.

Overall, Netflix said it serves about 100 million hours of video per day, earning an estimated 10 percent of television screen time in the United States.

As for the guidance for the first quarter of 2019, Netflix expects earnings per share of 0.56 dollar and revenue of 4.49 billion dollars, both lower than Wall Street estimates.

The internet entertainment service provider announced on Tuesday it's raising prices of all of its subscription plans, a move that sent its stock price surging for more than 6 percent on the day.

Netflix increased the price of its most popular standard plan from 10.99 U.S. dollars to 12.99 dollars. The subscription plan allows users to watch HD videos on two different screens at the same and have access to unlimited movies and TV shows.

Price of the platform's basic plan rose 1 dollar to 8.99 dollars a month while the premium plan rose to 15.99 dollars.

It was the fourth time the online videos streaming platform raised prices for subscription plans. The last time Netflix raised prices was in October 2017.

Previous price hikes had little impact on subscriber growth and so will be this time, said analysts.

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