Lee Enterprises - owner of the Quad City Times - reported Monday it lost $7.7 million in its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, an improvement over the same period a year ago when the Davenport-based firm had an $8.8 million loss, or 20 cents per share.
For the company's fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Lee posted a $21.3 million loss (43 cents per share) compared with a loss of $147 million ($3.27 per share) for fiscal 2011.
Result for both the quarter and fiscal year were hurt by much higher interest expenses, which totaled nearly $24 million in the fourth quarter and more than $78 million for the 12-month period ended Sept. 30. Lee's long-term debt, primarily incurred in the purchase of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, stood at $946 million as of September 30, down $48 million from a year ago.
In its earnings news release, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mary Junck stated the company is more than a year ahead of projections in reducing its debt, and "since 2007, has eliminated nearly one-third of cash costs of its continuing operation, totaling nearly $256 million."
Part of the lower operating costs came from a more than 7 percent reduction in full-time employees during the fiscal year. As of Sept. 30, the firm reported having 5,048 full-time equivalent employees, compared to 5,436 at the same time a year ago.
The firm reported a 10 percent increase in unique visitors to its online news sites, however the average circulation at Lee's 51 newspapers declined 6 percent for its daily (weekday) papers and more than 7 percent for its Sunday papers compared with the year earlier period.
CLICK HERE to download a copy of Lee's fourth quarter news release and financial statements.
