Netflix saw a temporary acceleration in its membership in the first quarter due to home confinement to halt the spread of the coronavirus crisis.
However, at the same time, its international revenues were lower than previously forecast due to a steep rise in the US dollar.
Furthermore, its free cash flow was improved by a production shutdown, meaning that some cash spending on content will be delayed.
The latest results published by the company show that it had 15.77 million global streaming paid net additions in Q1, compared to 8.76 million in the last quarter of 2019. It now forecasts the Q2 2020 figure to be 7.50 million.
The total number of global streaming paid memberships stood at 182.86 million in Q1, up from 167.09 million three months earlier, and is forecast to reach 190.36 million in Q2.
Revenues in Q1 amounted to $5,768 million, up 27.6% on a year earlier, and net income $709 million, or over double the $344 million posted in Q1 2019.
In its results Netflix says it has committed to spend $150 million supporting the industry through the coronavirus crisis.
It also notes that in March it was asked by a number of governments and ISPs to temporarily reduce the network traffic of our members. Using its Open Connect technology, its engineering team was able to respond immediately, reducing network use by 25% virtually overnight in those countries, while also substantially maintaining the quality of its service, including in HD.
It adds that it is now working with ISPs to help increase capacity so that it can lift these limitations as conditions improve.
