Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the Quad City Times and 46 other daily newspapers – reported Thursday (5/5) morning second quarter earnings of $19.5 million, or 36 cents per share, thanks largely to a one-time insurance gain of $30.6 million.

Without the insurance proceeds, the company would have reported a 1 cent per share loss for the 3-month period ended March 27, compared with a 3 cents per share gain for the same quarter a year ago.

Lee Enterprises reported higher fourth quarter earnings today (12/10) compared with a year ago thanks primarily to lower operating expenses that offset a 4.3 percent decline in revenue for the three-month period.

For the fourth quarter ended Sept. 27, Lee reported earnings of 18 cents ($10.13 million) compared with 6 cents per share ($3.38 million) for the same quarter last year. For the fiscal year, earnings totaled 44 cents per share ($24.3 million) compared with 13 cents per share ($7.67 million) a year ago.

Davenport-based Lee Enterprises last week announced the sale of its Napa, California newspaper building and property for $5 million, but the strategy to sell assets to pay down debt hasn't stopped the steady decline in the company's stock price.

Lee stock price fell to a new 52-week low Thursday (9/10), closing at $1.47 per share. The company's stock reached $5.42 per share on March 6, 2014, and has since been losing ground. In early August, the stock was just above $3 per share, but has lost half its value in just the past month.

In an interesting coincidence involving Lee Enterprises' largest newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Davenport-based media firm announced it had paid off debt related to acquisition of that paper in 2005, while confirming today (6/26) it was laying off eight St. Louis newsroom employees.