Lee Enterprises (NYSE: LEE) got a necessary reprieve last week when it received waivers on extending its latest debt payment, but it is not out of the woods by any stretch. And while no one was expecting that profits would even hold steady, preliminary Q1 figures show a staggering loss, as earnings from continuing operations plunged 69 percent to $6.8 million ($0.15 per share) from $22.1 million ($0.48 per share) a year ago. Release
The revenue front wasn’t much better, as even online ad sales fell nearly 14 percent at the publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In fact, not one single revenue category was up over Q108, except for online retail ad revenue, which grew 19.1 percent year-over-year. However, that one bright spot is more than overshadowed by the rest of the revenue list, as online looked as depressing as print. For example, online classified ads cratered 31.5 percent.
The immediate solution to Lee’s dire debt and slumping profits offered by Lee’s CEO/Chair Mary Junck is to cut costs. In a statement, she noted that Davenport, Iowa-based Lee has already cut its workforce by more than 10 percent in Q1 and plans to outsource printing and distribution jobs as much as possible. More details from its preliminary report after the jump.
— Revenues, in all, dropped 13 percent to $243.6 million.
— Combined print and online advertising revenue fell 15.2 percent to $184.6 million; retail ads were down 9.8 percent, and classified nosedived 27.1 percent.
— Combined print and web help wanteds fell 42.6 percent, while auto ads slid 23.2 percent and real estate tumbled 29.7 percent.
— National ads dropped 5.4 percent.
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