The New York Times Co.'s quarterly profit and revenue beat market expectations on Thursday, as strong growth in its digital business more than offset falling print sales, sending the publisher's shares up 9 percent to their highest since 2007.

The company's digital advertising revenue rose 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter, while print advertising revenue fell 8.4 percent, showing the shift of people moving online for their daily dose of news.

The New York Times has been attracting more paid subscribers for its online content through discounts as well as giving certain subscription packages access to its sought-after daily crossword puzzles and cooking recipes.

The company's digital revenue accounted for about 46 percent of total advertising revenue in the latest quarter, up from a roughly 42 percent contribution a year ago.

The New York Times added 157,000 digital subscribers in the quarter, taking its total subscriber count above 2.5 million.

The so-called "Trump bump" — the effect of President Donald Trump's attacks on the New York Times newspaper and the media in general — has also helped drive subscriptions.

Newspapers such as The New York Times, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal are building on the online readership they gained during the 2016 presidential election by marketing unbiased reporting as a sales strategy.

"We believe there remains a large opportunity to continue to extend our subscription reach and will continue to invest in areas of the business that will allow us to achieve that growth," NYT Chief Executive Mark Thompson said in a statement.

The company's total revenue rose 10 percent to $484.1 million in the latest quarter.

However, it posted a net loss of $57.8 million, compared with a year-ago profit of $37.6 million, mostly due to higher costs and pension settlements.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned 39 cents per share.

Analysts' on an average estimated a profit of 29 cents per share on revenue of $467.3 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The New York Times shares hit a high of $24.20, a price they last touched in mid-2007. The stock was up 7.5 percent at $23.80 near 10 a.m. ET on the New York Stock Exchange.