Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the Quad City Times and Dispatch/Argus – hopes increasing digital advertising and subscription revenues will eventually offset the steady decline in the media company's print ad and subscription revenue.
But the latest quarterly report shows the difficulty in jumping from print to online revenue streams.
The company lost $16.9 million for the first quarter as print ad revenues plunged more than 19 percent compared to the same period a year ago. A year ago, the company lost $1.6 million during the first quarter.
Print advertising revenue fell to $19.9 million for the first quarter this year, compared to $24.4 million last year.
Digital ad revenue for the quarter was up 1 percent to $46.7 million and digital subscription revenue for the quarter increased 11 percent to $21.6 million.
Print subscription revenue fell 16 percent to $43.4 million, and overall operating revenue fell 7 percent to $144.6 million, down from $155.7 million for the company's first quarter last year.
"As we look forward into the rest of the fiscal year, we expect digital revenue growth to accelerate achieving full year guidance of growth between 7 percent and 10 percent," Lee's President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mowbray stated in the company's earnings news release. "In addition, we have identified approximately $40 million of annualized cost reductions that we expect to have executed on by the end of the second quarter."
Lee has been making slow progress paying off its $446 million debt in recent years.
Under the credit agreement with BH Finance (25-year term and 9 percent interest rate) Lee paid more than $40 million in interest on the loan during the company's 2024 fiscal year.
The company stated in its annual report that it paid down $9.8 million on the loan in 2024 using proceeds from the sale of non-core assets.
Lee operates newspapers and online news sites in 72 markets.
CLICK HERE to view a list of Lee's newspaper/online markets along with the company's most recent digital and print subscriber numbers.
CLICK HERE to download Lee's first quarter earnings report.
