First quarter earnings for Lee Enterprises, parent of the Quad City Times, fell nearly 69 percent despite the newspaper chain reducing its workforce by more than 10 percent during the quarter.
For the company's first fiscal quarter which ended Dec. 28, earnings per share were 15 cents, compared with 48 cents per share for the first quarter a year ago.
Revenues declined 13 percent from the same period last year to $243.5 million.
The lower revenues reflect a more than 15 percent decline in advertising revenues from a year ago. Classified ad revenue sank 26 percent, including a 43 percent fall off in employment revenues, a 26 percent decline in automotive revenue and a 30 percent decrease in real estate revenue.
Even the online ad revenue fell 14 percent from $13.5 million a year ago to $11.6 million for the quarter ending Dec. 28, 2008.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mary Junck said in the company's news release that staffing at Lee had been cut more than 10 percent in the past quarter and additional cuts have been made more recently.
At Lee's annual meeting in March, shareholders will be asked to approve a reverse stock split aimed at boosting the per share price of the company above $1 per share. The New York Stock Exchange has notified the company it faces delisting because of the company's low share price.
The company stock closed at 31 cents a share Tuesday (1/20).
