Fairfax Media Ltd., the second-biggest newspaper publisher in Australia, reported its full-year profit up 47 percent, mostly driven by revenue generated from online business, Bloomberg reported.

Net income reached AU$386.9 million (US$338 million), or 24.6 cents a share, in the fiscal year ending June 30, up from $263.5 million, or 22.7 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose to $2.91 billion from $2.17 billion, the company said in a statement Thursday.

Earnings before tax, depreciation and amortization at online business were up 41 percent to $114.4 million, while revenue increased 33 percent, according to Bloomberg.

“The results highlight the successful implementation of our strategy of diversification of revenue, investment in digital earnings growth and constant focus on operations improvement to drive earnings per share,” said Chief Executive Officer David Kirk in the statement.

In the past year, Fairfax has spent nearly $3 billion buying newspapers and radio stations in Australia.

According to Bloomberg, the media company has boosted its regional titles and will own seven radio stations throughout the country. Its reliance on metropolitan papers has been lessened, due to fierce competition from television and the Web.

Fairfax will pay a final dividend of 10 Australian cents a share, making the total annual payment to 20 Australian cents, Bloomberg reported.