Lee Enterprises, owner of the Quad City Times and qctimes.com, reported a 3-cent per share loss for its third quarter on Tuesday, and its stock fell 8 percent Wednesday (7/18) to 1.30 per share.
For the quarter ended June 24, Lee reported it lost $1.47 million, reflecting a nearly 6 percent decline in advertising revenue, higher interest expense on its debt and nearly $8 million in debt financing and reorganization costs paid during the quarter.
Lee refinanced its debt earlier this year, but the restructuring left the company with much higher interest costs. For the third quarter, Lee reported interest expense of $23 million, up from $13.4 million in interest expense for the same period last year.
The company reported it reduced its debt $9.5 million during the quarter and $38.3 million so far this year, leaving it with an outstanding debt of $956 million.
In its earnings news release, Lee Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mary Junck reported the company had converted 17 of its online news sites to digital subscriptions (paywalls) and expects to complete the conversion of "nearly all of Lee's 52 markets" to the subscription system by the end of 2012.
Lee owns 48 daily newspapers, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and has joint interest in four other dailies.
CLICK HERE to download the company's third quarter news release and financials.
