(Telecompaper) Netflix passed USD 1 billion in quarterly sales for the first time in the first quarter. The VoD service recorded sales of USD 1.02 billion, versus 870 million a year earlier, and moved to an operating profit of USD 32 million versus a loss of USD 2 million. Net profit came in at USD 3 million, below its forecast for a flat result versus Q4's USD 8 million, due to one-time costs for paying off debt. Free cash flow was better than expected, at a negative USD 42 million versus USD 51 million last quarter. Netflix earlier said it expected cash burn to increase sequentially due to costs for creating original programming. Subscribers numbers were in line with the company's outlook, with the US base up by 2.03 million in the three months to 29.12 million and international customers up by 1.02 million to a total 7.14 million. The international activities generated a loss of USD 77 million, and this is expected to continue in Q2 due to content spending. Netflix said it plans to launch an additional European market during the second half of 2013.