AOL Posts 2nd-Quarter Profit, Sets Stock Split

America Online Inc. reported fiscal second-quarter earnings in line with estimates, its fourth consecutive quarterly profit, as the No. 1 online service added customers and sold more products online. Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $20.8 million, or 17 cents a diluted share, a penny above the average analyst estimates. That contrasts with a loss before charges of $56.2 million, or 60 cents a basic share, in the year-earlier quarter. Dulles, Va.-based AOL also set a 2-for-1 split of its shares and said it added 1.3 million new subscribers during the quarter, more than analysts expected. The stock split, which will be paid March 16 to shareholders of record Feb. 23, is the fourth since AOL went public. AOL shares fell $1.44 to close at $109 on the New York Stock Exchange. Signs of how seriously AOL is taking its financial health were disclosed Monday, when the company said it will raise its monthly subscriber fee 10% and cut jobs at its new CompuServe unit to keep down costs. As a result, Chief Executive Sephen Case said the company expects subscriber growth to slow by an unspecified amount in coming quarters.