NEW YORK, USA — The New York Times Company says its loss of print advertising continues to slow, while expenses fall.

The publisher said Tuesday that print advertising sales should slip about four per cent in the fourth quarter compared with a year ago, slightly better than a six per cent decline the company booked for the third quarter. Digital ad revenue, which includes ad sales on its newspaper websites as well as About.com, will show growth of roughly 10 per cent, the company said.

And it expects operating expenses will decline two per cent to three per cent, compared with a slight increase the quarter before.

The new forecast helped push Times Co shares up 15 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to US$9.51 in midmorning trading Tuesday. Its shares rose as high as US$9.90 earlier in the session.

Still, the Times Co’s traditional newspaper business continues to offset gains in its digital business.

In dollar terms, the projections mean digital ad revenue should climb to US$99.7 million from US$90.6 million, while print ad revenue slips to US$295 million from US$307.4 million.

And circulation revenue, which accounts for subscription fees and newsstand sales, is expected to decline four per cent to five per cent. That works out to between US$227.3 million and US$229.7million, down from US$239.3 million.

The Times Co is hoping to boost revenue from its digital operations, planning to charge readers for access to some stories on its flagship NYTimes.com website beginning early next year.