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Netflix profit up 45% in Q4, nears 10 million total subscribers

by Darren Murph posted Jan 26th 2009 at 5:52PM


Analysts were already anticipating a killer Q4 for Netflix, and unlike practically every other company on the face of the planet, it delivered. The movie rental firm somehow managed to see net income rise to $22.7 million in the quarter, up from $15.7 million in Q4 2007. Revenue was also up by 19 percent, and subscriber growth was pegged at an amazing 26 percent. All told, the firm ended the quarter with 9.4 million subscribers, decimating its own forecast of ending Q4 with 9.15 million customers. Of course, some (Netflix included) are quick to assert that the recession has actually boosted business, with many consumers opting to stay home and rent versus taking the family out for a pricey night at the cinema. Netflix is now projecting to end 2009 with anywhere between 10.6 million to 11.3 million customers, and given all the hardware deals it keeps landing, we don't see a reason why it won't get there. Way to buck the trend, Netflix -- we needed some bright news today.

[Via AP]

Funai sees operating income jump on sales of BD decks, DTV converter boxes

by Darren Murph posted Nov 18th 2008 at 11:57PM

So, apparently sales of Blu-ray players and DTV converter boxes are on the up and up now that the format war is over and the DTV transition is quickly approaching in the USA -- who would've thunk it? According to reports, Funai's latest quarter saw an operating income increase of 108.8%, and it didn't hesitate to thank sales of Blu-ray players and DTV converters for such a surge. The outfit also proclaimed that sales of CRT TVs and DVD decks were down, and even though the boost from converter boxes will be short lived, it's hoping a deeper adoption of BD and sales of Philips-branded LCD TVs will compensate in 2009. Godspeed, we say.

[Via VideoBusiness]

Netflix sees 30% rise in profit, expects 500,000 Blu-ray subscribers

by Darren Murph posted Oct 20th 2008 at 11:30PM


The current marketplace as a whole may be shaky, but while others are hanging their heads as they mumble about Q3 downfalls, Netflix is grinning from ear-to-ear. Citing lower subscriber costs, the rental outfit proudly announced a 30% increase in profits today while slightly reducing its Q4 revenue estimate. During Q3 2008, the company earned $20.4 million compared with $15.6 million a year ago while revenue rose from $294 million to $341.4 million. In related news, it also said that it "expects about 500,000 of its 8.7 million subscribers [to] be Blu-ray subscribers in the current quarter," meaning that around 5.7% of its customers would be voluntarily paying the $1 monthly premium to keep BD flicks coming. Good on you, Netflix.

[Image courtesy of Flickr]

Read - Netflix quarterly earnings
Read - Netflix Blu-ray subscribers

Australia's Foxtel nets 40,000 new subscribers since HD+ launch

by Darren Murph posted Aug 13th 2008 at 9:37PM


Only a few months have passed since Australia's Foxtel launched its HD+ service, and judging by the numbers, Aussies are warming to high-def. The carrier just posted a 17% rise in revenue (up to $1.7 billion), and it's expecting the numbers to remain high as more consumers cave to the temptation of high-definition programming. Furthermore, 40,000 new users have signed on since the HD+ launch, and the average revenue per user has skyrocketed to nearly $85 per month "as a result of a higher take-up of additional services such as Foxtel iQ." There's no specific mention of additional HD channels, but given that bigwigs surely realize how critical they are to revenue growth, we can't imagine them not giving you folks a few more here shortly.

Matsushita profit soars 86% on the wings of high flat-panel sales

by Darren Murph posted Jul 31st 2008 at 8:30AM

So Sony didn't do so hot this quarter, but that's not to say someone else can't have fun at its expense. Matsushita Electric just posted its most recent quarterly earnings, and needless to say, it's probably pretty stoked about the 86% rise in profit. According to reports, the majority of the credit goes to digital camera and flat-panel television sales, and even though sales actually decreased 4%, operating profit still rose 48% from a year prior. Good to see someone's making sure that flat-panels rule the consumer electronics roost in 2008.

Samsung SDI expected to post first profit in two years

by Darren Murph posted Jul 25th 2008 at 4:01PM


Samsung SDI has definitely been on the offensive of late, producing the world's first WVGA OLED panels for handhelds, a 3D AMOLED display and plans to crank out medium to large OLED TVs in just a year or so. Its efforts are paying off, as the firm is expected to post its first profit since dipping into (and remaining in) the red back in Q1 2005. According to Kim Dong-won, an analyst at Hyundai Securities, the outfit is forecasting a ?3.1 billion ($3.05 million) profit for Q2 2008 -- quite a bit better than the ?31 billion ($30.5 million) in losses analysts were expecting. Here's a hint for staying in the black: get a few big screen OLED HDTVs out before everyone else. Simple, right?

LG Display to post huge Q2 profits, LCD sales expected to slump in coming quarters

by Darren Murph posted Jul 8th 2008 at 2:54PM


While we just heard last month that flat-panel sales would be spearheading 2008 consumer electronics growth, a new outlook has those very sales looking bleak for the remainder of the year. The news come amidst the expectation of LG Display to post profits for Q2 that "more than [triple] thanks to strong demand for TVs and tight supplies of PC panels." According to James Kim, an analyst at Lehman Brothers, "earnings have peaked in the second quarter," and while he asserts that "demand to replace TVs with flat-screen models is still there, fewer consumers are buying large-size TVs because of the weak economy." Still, sales of smaller sets are expected to steadily climb in emerging markets as the Beijing Olympics draw near, but it remains to be seen how large an impact those markets will have.

[Via WidescreenReview]

Yowza: Toshiba's net profits plunge 95% thanks to HD DVD, flash prices

by Thomas Ricker posted Apr 25th 2008 at 4:59AM Breaking News

A year ago today Toshiba was announcing ¥26.17 billion in profits for the quarter. Today, just ¥1.25 billion or about $12 million. In addition to the $580 million hit on account of its withdrawal from HD DVD, Toshiba also saw a swift decline in flash memory prices. While bad news for Toshiba on all accounts, we consumers are basking in a market dominated by a single high-def optical disc standard and cheap NAND and DRAM pricing. Sorry Tosh, but you won't find any tears around here.

TiVo beats analysts' estimates in Q4, still loses money

by Darren Murph posted Mar 11th 2008 at 5:13PM

TiVo's been riding the proverbial wire for years now, and while there was some bright news from the Alviso-based firm's Q4 report, things still aren't looking too peachy on the whole. During the outfit's Q4, it managed to beat analysts' estimates with a loss of "just" $6.4 million "as expenses fell and sales of older-model units were better than expected." Reportedly, the loss equaled 6 cents per share -- much better than the expected loss of 11 cents per share. According to Chief Executive Tom Rogers, the year it just closed was its "best annual performance in its history," but when that performance was losing $31.4 million, we don't even want to think about a poor year. Still, Mr. Rogers assured investors that its newfangled partnerships with cable and satellite TV providers would help "narrow the gap toward profitability," but we still don't see poor TiVo rising from the depths just yet.




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