Netflix Loss Widens; Forecast Is Lowered
Netflix Inc., the largest mail-order movie-rental service, said Thursday that its first-quarter loss widened to $8.81 million because of seasonally higher marketing costs and lower subscription prices. It also forecast a second-quarter loss.
The first-quarter loss widened to 17 cents a share from a loss of $5.79 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier, the Los Gatos, Calif., company said. Sales rose 53% to $154.1 million from $100.4 million.
Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings boosted marketing and advertising spending and added 408,000 customers in the first quarter as the company faced increased competition from retailers. Netflix cut its subscription price Nov. 1 by $4 to $17.99 a month.
Netflix said it expected a second-quarter loss of $2.2 million to $7.2 million on sales of $160 million to $165 million. The full-year loss will be $5 million to $15 million on sales of $660 million to $685 million.
Netflix previously forecast that it would be profitable in the second quarter.
Netflix shares fell 69 cents to $11.46 in extended trading. Earlier they rose 70 cents to $12.15 on Nasdaq.
Netflix ships more than 4 million DVDs each week.
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