Shares in Internet TV company Netflix rose by over 13% during afterhours trading after the firm announced a higher-than-predicted addition of five million users during the first quarter.
The new subscribers mean that 62.3 million people are now using the service worldwide. The firm also says that its year-on-year revenue increased by 23% compared to the first quarter of 2014, with the service bringing in $1.57 billion. However, it also announced a slight reduction in net profit, which was $23.7 million during Q1.
The company said that it wanted to seek a share split to return money to investors. Shares have risen by almost 40% since the start of the year. Despite its success, the company is facing aggressive competition from the likes of HBO and Hulu, which, like Netflix, are producing their own in-house content. Successful shows made by Netflix include Orange is the New Black and House of Cards.
Netflix has been expanded to a number of countries during the last year, with Cubans now able to receive the service, to give just one example. There are plans to allow Cuban filmmakers to add their own content to the service. The company says it plans to expand its service to more than 200 countries over the coming years.
