Netflix shares soar in response to announcement that the company has added 2.3m US subscribers in the last quarter

The video streaming company say they are planning “substantial European expansion” later this year

Netflix HQ in California (AP)

Shares of Netflix soared to touch a record high in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company said it added 2.3 million US subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2013, and expects another 2.25 million to sign up in the first quarter of this year.

Netflix also reported a profit that beat many Wall Street expectations. The video streaming company reported net income of $48 million for the quarter, up from $8 million a year ago.

Earnings-per-share were 79 cents, well above the 66 cents average forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

“We expect this momentum to continue in Q1 with net additions of 2.25 million to exceed the prior year by about 11 percent,” Netflix said.

Controversially, Netflix said it was considering changes to its pricing structure to possibly introduce three different tiers. Some Netflix viewers currently share accounts without paying extra.

“If we do make pricing changes for new members, existing members would get generous grandfathering of their existing plans and prices, so there would be no material near-term revenue increase from moving to this potential broader set of options,” said Netflix in its quarterly statement.

“We are in no rush to implement such new member plans and are still researching the best way to proceed.”

Netflix also said it plans to embark on a “substantial European expansion” later this year.