New Delhi. Its stock is down 20 per cent after streaming giant Netflix reported a loss of 2 lakh paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. In addition, Netflix estimates that there may be a loss of 2 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2022. The decline brought Netflix’s subscriber base to 221.6 million, down from 221.8 million in the previous quarter.
“The suspension of our service in Russia and the termination of all Russian paid subscriptions resulted in an impact of 7 million on Paid Net Aid, excluding this effect, totaling 5 million subscribers,” the company said in a statement late Tuesday. The company told its shareholders that it expects to add 2.5 million net subscribers during the first quarter, compared to 4 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Netflix said the main challenge for subscription growth is continuing soft takeovers across regions. Netflix said it is making good progress in APAC “where we are seeing good growth in various markets including Japan, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan”. Its revenue reached $7.78 billion in the first quarter. Net cash generated from operating activities was $923 million in the first quarter.