Netflix has reported a 52% rise in net income to $47.1m (£31m) in the fourth quarter ended December 31, with revenues rocketing 34% to $596m (£386m).

During the period the company had a gain of 3 million subscribers, up to a total of 20 million end users. This represents a 63% increase from the same period last year. The company said: “To summarise the fourth quarter, we would say that our huge subscriber growth, fuelled by the excitement of watching instantly, impressed even us.”

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