Timetravelerdos
5 years ago
Lee Enterprises reports first quarter; digital-only subscribers surpass 100,000 milestone!!
Total digital revenue was $37.2 million, representing 30.4% of operating revenue. Digital advertising revenue increased 5.1%, after adjusting for non-recurring political revenue in the prior year quarter, and represented 39.5% of total advertising revenue.
Revenue at TownNews increased 17.8% from the prior year quarter.
Due to timing of strategic pricing actions and print unit declines, subscription revenue was off trend, reflecting the challenging conditions in print. However, digital-only subscribers, which totaled 57,000 in the prior year quarter, increased 84.8% and now total 105,000.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/02/06/1980957/0/en/Lee-Enterprises-reports-first-quarter-digital-only-subscribers-surpass-100-000-milestone.html
Plus remember LEE just increased their business account!!
With the deal, Lee will run 81 daily papers, up from 50. The company currently owns news outlets such as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson.
Lee said the deal should boost profits immediately. It also said it has found between about $20 million and $25 million in future savings
BONGWHOLE
5 years ago
Alden Global Capital, the New York vulture hedge fund gutting Digital First Media newspapers, has acquired a $9.2 million stake in one of its rivals, Lee Enterprises, siphoning money from Aldenβs highly profitable and understaffed papers to finance the stock purchase. MNG Enterprises, Aldenβs business name for DFM, reported the acquisition in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The 3.4 million shares βrepresenting a 5.9% stake in Lee β were purchased on the open market for just under $2.72 a share. Lee shares closed on Wednesday at $2.11. No doubt this will hit at least $3 in very short order , since Alden paid close to that, per share.
$$LEE$$
Timetravelerdos
5 years ago
Looks like a very good deal for LEE and Berkshire Hathaway. Mary Junck, Leeβs chairman, said, βThis is a compelling and transformative transaction for Lee. It both refinances our long-term debt on attractive terms and provides new revenue opportunities as well as operational synergies across an expanded portfolio.
The deal adds 31 local daily news publications to the company's holdings. Those include the Omaha World-Herald, Tulsa World, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Buffalo News and the Bryan-College Station Eagle, as well as the Tribune-Herald, which has served Waco since 1892.
Buffett, Berkshire Hathawayβs chairman and CEO, said, βMy partner Charlie Munger and I have known and admired the Lee organization for over 40 years. They have delivered exceptional performance managing BH Mediaβs newspapers and continue to outpace the industry in digital market share and revenue
https://www.wacotrib.com/business/berkshire-hathaway-sells-trib-other-daily-newspapers-to-lee-enterprises/article_203402ab-305d-555a-b7e8-57b4edbc6874.html
airbus300
11 years ago
Lee Enterprises Seeks to Pay Down Secured Loans to Reduce Debt
By David Holley - Jul 29, 2013
Lee Enterprises Inc. (LEE), the owner of local newspapers in the U.S. Midwest and West Coast, is seeking to repay secured obligations to reduce its debt load.
The owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch may target a $621 million term loan that matures in December 2015, paying interest at 6.25 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate, according to Carl Schmidt, chief financial officer of the Davenport, Iowa-based company.
Lee, which completed a bankruptcy reorganization in January 2012, is planning to reduce the ratio of its total debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to less than 2 times, Schmidt said in a July 25 telephone interview. The companyβs leverage was 5.4 times as of March 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
βWeβre continuing to monitor the credit markets and talk with bankers to see what our options are,β Schmidt said. The company will seek to refinance the term loan by 2015 at the latest, he said.
The first-lien obligation, which was arranged by Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., was quoted at 99.1 cents on the dollar today, Bloomberg prices show.
Lee had $876.1 million of total debt as of March 31, down from $1.4 billion in the third quarter of 2008, Bloomberg data show. Net income dropped $16.7 million in 2012, narrower than the $146.9 million loss in the prior year.
βWeβve been very focused on paying down debt and have been aggressively doing that,β Schmidt said. βWe would expect to continue to do that.β
To contact the reporter on this story: David Holley in New York at dholley8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net
airbus300
11 years ago
Lee Enterprises reports improved earnings for June quarter
BY Hugin
β 9:00 AM ET 07/23/2013
DAVENPORT, Iowa (July 23, 2013) -- Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (LEE) , a major provider of local news, information and advertising in 50 markets, reported today that earnings for its third fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2013, totaled 3 cents per diluted common share, compared with a loss of 3 cents a year ago. Excluding unusual matters, adjusted earnings per diluted common share totaled 6 cents, compared with 3 cents a year ago.
"Continued digital growth and cost reduction again resulted in strong, and improving, cash flow and operating income, enabling even faster debt reduction," said Mary Junck, Lee chairman and chief executive officer. "Looking ahead, we see many more digital opportunities, especially in subscription revenue, mobile advertising and digital marketing services."
She also noted:
* Total digital revenue for the quarter, including advertising, subscriptions and all digital businesses, totaled $19.9 million, an increase of 4.9% from a year ago.
* Mobile advertising revenue increased 89.2% over a year ago, to $1.5 million.
* Preprinted advertising revenue continues to grow, up 1.7% for the quarter compared with a year ago.
* Lee expects 2013 full year operating expenses, excluding depreciation, amortization and unusual matters, to decrease 4.5-5.5% from their 2012 level, improved 1% from previous guidance of a decrease of 3.5-4.5%.
* Interest expense decreased 10.1% for the quarter compared with the prior year quarter as a result of overall debt reduction and refinancing of the Pulitzer Notes in May 2013.
* Debt reduction in the quarter totaled $19.5 million. Since completion of refinancing in January 2012, debt has been reduced $122 million to $873.5 million.
THIRD QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS
Operating revenue for the 13 weeks ended June 30, 2013 totaled $167.0 million, a decrease of 2.8% compared with a year ago. Combined print and digital advertising and marketing services revenue decreased 5.7% to $113.6 million, with retail advertising down 4.2%, classified down 8.4% and national down 14.9%. Combined print and digital classified employment revenue decreased 11.1%, while automotive decreased 11.8%, real estate decreased 2.5% and other classified decreased 6.2%. Digital advertising and marketing services revenue on a stand-alone basis decreased 0.2% to $16.9 million. Print advertising and marketing services revenue on a stand-alone basis decreased 6.7%. Subscription revenue increased 3.5%.
Operating expenses, excluding depreciation, amortization and unusual matters, decreased 4.1%. Compensation decreased 8.3%, with the average number of full- time equivalent employees down 8.4%. Newsprint and ink expense decreased 15.3%, primarily a result of a reduction in newsprint volume of 11.9%. Other operating expenses increased 4.2%.
Operating cash flow increased 5.6% from a year ago to $39.8 million. Operating cash flow margin increased to 23.8% from 21.9% a year ago. Including equity in earnings of associated companies, depreciation and amortization, as well as unusual matters in both years, operating income increased 16.1% to $26.9 million in the current year quarter, compared with $23.2 million a year ago. Non-operating expenses, primarily interest expense and debt financing costs, decreased 11.0%, due to lower debt balances and refinancing of the Pulitzer Notes. Adjustments to deferred income taxes increased income tax expense approximately $1 million in the quarter, resulting in a high effective tax rate. The adjustments were made to maximize available fiscal 2012 tax loss carrybacks and also to reflect current expectations related to the company's income tax attributes. Income attributable to Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (LEE) for the quarter totaled $1.8 million, compared with a loss of $1.5 million a year ago.