• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, February 3, 2015

The New York Times Co. enjoyed strong growth in digital advertising revenues last year as circulation revenues also edged up, thanks to digital subscriptions. These increases were offset by continuing declines in print advertising, leaving the publisher basically flat for the year.

NYTCO’s total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2014 came to $444.7 million, up 0.2% from $443.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. Within this figure, total advertising revenues were down 2.1% from $212.1 million to $207.6 million, while circulation revenues edged up 1.4% from $207.7 million to $210.6 million.

Digital advertising revenues increased 19% from $53 million to $63.2 million over the same period. In proportional terms, that’s an increase from 25% to 30.5% of all the company’s advertising revenues.

For the full year, the company’s total revenues were again basically flat, with a 0.7% increase from $1.58 billion in 2013 to $1.59 billion in 2014. Advertising revenues were down 0.7% to $662 million, while circulation revenues increased 1.5% to $837 million. Annual digital advertising revenues increased 11.8% from $162.9 million to $182.2 million.

NYTCO continued to make progress with its digital subscription strategy, with 910,000 digital subscribers at the end of 2014, up from 760,000 at the end of 2013; the net addition of 150,000 exceeds 2013’s net addition 120,000. Circulation revenues derived from digital-only subscriptions jumped 13.6% in the fourth quarter to $44.5 million, and 13.5% for the full year, to $169.3 million.

The company has introduced a series of new digital subscription products over the last year to keep its total subscription base growing. One of the new products is a low-price digital subscription called NYT Now, which costs $8 for four weeks of access and gives subscribers access to a collection of important coverage.

At the other end of the spectrum, Times Premier, costing $45 for every four weeks, offers the most engaged NYT readers expanded content offerings including the “Times Insider,” which provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the newsroom creates content.

The new digital subscription offerings helped keep the total number of subscribers growing at a steady clip over 2014, with 39,000 net new subscribers added in the first quarter, 32,000 in the second, 44,000 in the third, and 35,000 in the fourth.