Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises, Inc. – calling itself a high quality and trusted source of news – issued a news release last week about its second quarter earnings without stating it lost $2.06 per share ($12.2 million) for the three-month period ended March 24.

The owner of the QC Times and Daily Dispatch/Argus and 70 other newspapers and online news site detailed its digital revenues, digital subscriptions, digital subscribers and digital advertising and marketing service in the news release.

But the company omitted stating it lost money during the second quarter, more than double its $1.01 loss ($5.9 million) loss a year ago. (The actual earnings numbers for the period are contained in the financial statement of operations – required by the Security and Exchange Commission – and attached to the news release narrative.)

Lee Enterprises – owner of the Quad City Times, Dispatch/Argus and 70+ other news publications and web sites – reported first quarter earnings of $1.2 million, a 32 percent decrease from the same period a year ago.

Lee executives again boasted of its growth in digital subscriptions (up 58 percent from the first quarter of 2022), but overall subscription revenue fell 10.5 percent compared with the same period last year.

"Our first quarter results demonstrate our confidence in Lee's digital transformation," Kevin Mowbray, Lee's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated in its earnings news release issued Feb. 1. "We are on a clear path to becoming sustainable solely from the revenue and cash flow from our digital products."

While the company has been pushing aggressively to move print subscribers to digital subscribers, the overall impact has been a steady decrease in total operating revenues.

A 15 percent increase in digital revenue plus a 15 percent decrease in operating expenses led to a $2.1-million profit for Lee Enterprises, Inc. in the third quarter ended June 25.

Lee, headquartered in Davenport, owns more than 70 newspapers and online news sites including the Quad City Times and Daily Dispatch/Argus.

Lee Enterprises, Inc. finally filed its full fiscal 2022 financial report Tuesday (Feb. 27) with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), two months later than normal.

The annual 10-K report showed the company lost 35 cents per share for the 12 months ended Sept. 25, or 14 cents more than preliminary numbers released Dec. 8 as part of its fourth quarter financial results.

Lee is publisher of the Quad City Times and Daily Dispatch/Argus and some 75 other newspapers and online news sites including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Buffalo News and the Omaha World-Herald.