The Warner Music Group said yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit slipped 58 percent amid a softer international market and a decline in compact disc sales.

Its results, however, topped Wall Street estimates.

The company said earnings for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 fell to $5 million, or 3 cents a share, from $12 million, or 8 cents a share, in the period a year earlier.

Quarterly results included $9 million in revamping and implementation expenses and a $12 million benefit for a settlement with Bertelsmann related to Napster. The earlier period included a $13 million gain on a Kazaa online music sharing settlement.

Quarterly revenue climbed 2 percent, to $869 million, from $854 million in the year-ago period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected net income of 2 cents a share on sales of $874.8 million.