AOL's quarterly revenue beat market estimates, helped by strong advertising sales as the company works on reducing its dependence on lucrative dollars from its dial up division.

Second-quarter total revenue fell 8 percent to $542.2 million, hurt by a 23 percent fall in subscription sales. Advertising revenue rose 5 percent to $319 million.

Analysts, on average, forecast total revenue of $530.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Second quarter loss was $11.8 million, or 11 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.06 billion, or $9.89 per share during the same quarter last year. The prior quarter's results included a goodwill impairment charge of $1.41 billion.

AOL, which spun out from Time Warner after a disastrous decade-long merger, is trying to regain its former shine as one of the world's most popular online destinations.

CEO Tim Armstrong is attempting to reshape the company into a media and entertainment powerhouse that pulls in advertising revenue.

(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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