SHARES of New York Times Co. surged to their highest level in more than a decade Thursday after the publisher gave a bullish forecast for online subscriptions, easing concern about a decline in print advertising.

New York Times added 99,000 digital news subscribers in the fourth quarter, the company said Thursday. While the pace slowed from the same period last year, when massive interest in the election helped add 276,000 online subscribers, chief executive Mark Thompson expects the momentum to continue. The gains followed a recent decision to cut the amount of free online articles per month to five from 10.

“We believe there remains a large opportunity to continue to extend our subscription reach,” Thompson said in a statement.

New York Times Co.’s shares jumped 16 percent to US$25.70 in New York on Thursday, the highest mark since June 2007. They are up about 35 percent so far this year. The stock closed down 1.23 percent at US$24.10.

Scoops on the Trump administration’s scandals and sexual-harassment allegations in Hollywood have contributed to the surge in subscriptions. The publisher wants more of its business to come from paying readers as print advertising steadily declines and online advertising is increasingly dominated by Facebook and Google.

Annual subscription revenue topped US$1 billion for the first time, and it now makes up 60 percent of total sales. Print advertising fell 12 percent in the quarter, which was better than expected, according to Craig Huber, an analyst at Huber Research. (SD-Agencies)