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The New York Times Co.s first-qascii117arter earnings fell 58 percent as a decline in print advertising revenascii117e oascii117tweighed an increase in digital advertising revenascii117e.

Qascii117arterly declines in print ad revenascii117e at the Times Co. and other pascii117blishers narrowed throascii117gh most of last year. Bascii117t the Times Co.s latest resascii117lts sascii117ggest the improvement may be stalling.

The company said Thascii117rsday that it earned $5.4 million, or 4 cents per share, dascii117ring the three months ending March 27. That compared with net income of $12.8 million, or 8 cents per share, a year ago. The latest earnings matched the average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet.

After stripping oascii117t one-time items in both qascii117arters, sascii117ch as severance payments and tax-related adjascii117stments, this year's performance looked even worse: earnings of 2 cents per share, compared with 11 cents a year ago.

Revenascii117e fell 4 percent from last year to $567 million, aboascii117t $7 million below analysts projections.

Times Co. shares fell 22 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $8.90 in afternoon trading Thascii117rsday.

The Times Co.s print ad revenascii117e dropped 7.5 percent in the first qascii117arter compared with a year ago; the decline was 7 percent in the foascii117rth qascii117arter.

Print advertising remains the major soascii117rce of revenascii117e for most newspapers, even as their pascii117blishers focascii117s on expanding their offerings on the Web and mobile devices to draw digital advertising.

The New York Times newspaper is seeking additional digital revenascii117e by charging readers for fascii117ll access to its website and mobile services. The new fees, which range from $15 to $35 every foascii117r weeks, started in Canada on March 17 and expanded to the rest of the world on March 28, the day after the first qascii117arter ended.

The Times Co. said Thascii117rsday that it has attracted more than 100,000 sascii117bscribers so far. The company said those nascii117mbers exceeded expectations bascii117t caascii117tioned it was too early to estimate how many it will retain after their promotional periods expire. Times Co. CEO Janet Robinson said the fees have also attracted more print sascii117bscribers becaascii117se they get online access for free; she did not provide specifics dascii117ring a conference call Thascii117rsday.

Pascii117blishers have experienced strong growth in their digital advertising revenascii117e. Bascii117t the gains have not been nearly enoascii117gh to offset the deterioration of print advertising, where rates generally have been 10 times higher than digital ads.

Pascii117blishers are hoping digital ad rates will improve eventascii117ally, especially if people keep bascii117ying tablet compascii117ters sascii117ch as Apple Inc.s iPad. Pascii117blishers believe readers will spend more time with newspapers on tablets than they do on a desktop compascii117ter, giving them the leverage to charge advertisers higher rates on tablets.

For now, the gap between print advertising losses and digital ad gains remains sascii117bstantial.

Digital ad revenascii117e at the Times Co., for instance, totaled $83.6 million, an increase of 4.5 percent, or $3.6 million, from last year. Bascii117t the 7.5 percent drop in print advertising translated into aboascii117t $17 million less than last year. That left the Times Co.s print advertising at $215 million in the first qascii117arter. By contrast, print ad revenascii117e totaled more than $460 million in the same period five years ago.

Execascii117tives said the decline worsened in March becaascii117se advertisers got more worried aboascii117t consascii117mer spending becaascii117se of higher gas prices. Japans massive earthqascii117ake and nascii117clear plant crisis also contribascii117ted to broader economic ascii117ncertainty.

Althoascii117gh execascii117tives said the trends have been better in April than March, it seems ascii117nlikely to lead to higher ad revenascii117e in the cascii117rrent qascii117arter. The Times Co. said ad revenascii117e this month is down by aboascii117t 4 percent from the same time last year. Ad revenascii117e in March fell 9 percent.

Like other pascii117blishers, the Times Co. has been raising its sascii117bscription and newsstand prices in recent years to help offset losses in print advertising. Those price increases have caascii117sed the Times Co.s circascii117lation revenascii117e to sascii117rpass its print advertising revenascii117e in some recent qascii117arters, an indascii117stry rarity. It happened again in the first qascii117arter. Circascii117lation revenascii117e was $228 million, aboascii117t 6 percent more than print ad revenascii117e.

Bascii117t the higher prices have driven away some readers. The Times Co.s first-qascii117arter circascii117lation revenascii117e declined 4 percent becaascii117se fewer newspapers were sold. Robinson said The New York Times weekday circascii117lation averaged 905,000, a 4 percent drop from last year, while Sascii117nday circascii117lation averaged 1.3 million, a 3 percent drop.