Lee Enterprises Reports Earnings for Fourth Fiscal Quarter
Lee Enterprises recorded diluted earnings per common share of 4 cents for its fourth fiscal quarter ended Sept. 27, 2009, compared with a loss of $4.34 per share a year ago.
Company Supplied -- Graphic Arts Online, November 12, 2009
DAVENPORT, Iowa--Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE), recorded diluted earnings per common share of 4 cents for its fourth fiscal quarter ended Sept. 27, 2009, compared with a loss of $4.34 per share a year ago. Excluding non-cash impairment charges and other unusual items(1), earnings were 5 cents, compared with 13 cents a year ago.
Operating cash flow(2) increased 10.5 percent in the quarter compared with a year ago, as Lee reduced cash operating expenses, excluding unusual items, 25.5 percent.
"We feel good about the quarter and our direction," said Mary Junck, chairman and chief executive officer. "Cost reductions and lower newsprint prices enabled us to post a strong increase in cash flow and continue to reduce debt substantially, by $20 million in the quarter and $164 million in the fiscal year."
She said September was Lee's best month for year-over-year advertising revenue since December 2008, and October results were similar. She said additional improvement in the revenue trend is expected in November. Cash costs are expected to decrease 15-16 percent in the December 2009 quarter versus a year ago and 6-7 percent in fiscal 2010.
"While we can't predict the timing of the economic recovery, we believe our streamlining of costs, aggressive sales programs and unmatched delivery of local news, information and advertising have positioned Lee to emerge strong," she said. "In 2009, we increased local market share by taking millions of advertising dollars from competitors, and in 2010 we expect to gain further share through our rollout of online behavioral targeting advertising and other intensive sales programs."
She added: "Meanwhile, our online audiences continue to grow rapidly - up 18 percent in the quarter - and our print audiences remain huge and stable. Combined, our newspapers and online sites reach up to three-fourths of adults in our markets. We're strong across all age groups, reaching 60 percent or more of 18- to 29-year-olds. We're first and best in local news, with more journalists than all of our competitors combined. No competitor can match the results we deliver for advertisers through our newspapers, niche publications and online. Even in a difficult economy, we continue to generate significant cash flow."
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