Blockbuster Profit Quadruples

New York City Blockbuster Inc. reported Thursday that fourth-quarter net income more than quadrupled, citing an "aggressive" plan to reduce costs and improve marketing.

Fourth-quarter results were driven by "aggressive cost reductions, the repositioning of our subscription programs, and a renewed focus on store merchandising" over the last half of the year, Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes said in a statement.

Blockbuster reported net income of $38.1 million, compared with net income of $8.3 million.

After accounting for severance charges and other one-time items, the company made $54.9 million, a 160% increase over $21.1 million.

Blockbuster said total revenue grew 3.6% to $1.57 billion. Meanwhile, same-store sales fell 0.9% domestically, excluding rent-by-mail revenue, and grew 10% internationally.

In a conference call with analysts, Keyes said Blockbuster was actively testing store redesigns and talking with studios about putting more copies of movies in its stores.