AOL posted Wednesday a first-quarter profit well below year-ago levels, as the New York-based internet firm pressed ahead with a dramatic revamp effort.

The company said its first-quarter profit plunged to $4.7 million, or four cents a share, from $34.7 million, or 32 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 17 percent to $551.4 million, with declines in both advertising and subscription revenue.

Advertising on AOL properties fell 11 percent to $313.7 million.

On average, analysts polled by FactSet Research expected the company to report adjusted quarterly earnings of 26 cents a share on revenue of $535 million.

“Today represents an important milestone in the turnaround of AOL as global display revenue grew for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2007,” CEO Tim Armstrong said in a statement.

Wall Street generally expected little from AOL’s performance, as the company reorganizes in the wake of its $315 million acquisition of The Huffington Post, announced in February.

After the deal, AOL began laying off roughly 20 percent of its workforce. During the recent quarter, AOL also closed its acquisition of Goviral.

AOL was seeking to move beyond its history as an internet access provider and develop online content and services supported by advertising. AOL was spun out of Time Warner at the end of 2009.

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