NYTimes Reports Strong Quarter

The New York Times Company on Wednesday reported first-quarter results that were better than expected, as gains in digital advertising and subscriptions outpaced the inexorable decline of its once-mighty print business.

The total number of paid subscriptions, including digital and print, topped 4.5 million, a high. More than 3.5 million people pay for the publisher’s online products, with the company adding 223,000 customers for its news, crossword and cooking apps during the quarter, a 29 percent increase over last year.

Revenue generated by online advertising was a bright spot. It rose 19 percent, to $55 million, helped by its podcast business, notably “The Daily.” The paper’s digital subscription and advertising businesses combined rose 16 percent, to $165.4 million.

The future of the company hinges on digital growth as the print newspaper becomes a specialized product for an ever-shrinking base of readers.

The company has made steady progress as an online publisher. Last year, it generated more than $709 million in digital revenue, making it likely The Times will meet a stated goal of $800 million by 2020. This year, Mark Thompson, the chief executive, set another lofty target: to increase the number of subscribers to more than 10 million by 2025.

“We had another strong quarter and we’re continuing to optimize our business to deliver on our goal,” he said in a statement announcing the results.

At The Times, costs have kept rising, in part because of increased spending on marketing to help advertise digital subscription products. The company paid $47.5 million in marketing costs during the first quarter, a 50 percent jump over the same period last year.