Lee Enterprises posted lackluster fiscal fourth quarter results even with a strong performance by its digital business, another example of the still-small impact digital has in many media companies. Net income was $10.9 million, or 24 cents per share, down 14 percent from $13.1 million, or 29 cents per share. Revenue rose 0.2 percent to $279.8 million. Excluding discontinued operations, profit was 33 cents per share. Analysts had expected Le, which has owned the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other Pulitzer properties for more than a year now, to have earnings of 43 cents on revenue of $288.5 million.
On the digital side, the picture looked good. Online advertising revenue rose 43 percent and, when divestitures and acquisitions are factored out, jumped 46 percent. Page views on Lee newspaper sites were up 43 percent between September 2005 and September 2006. The company says the sites reach more than 2 million users. Print circulation at 51 Lee papers was down 0.2 percent daily and 0.5 percent for Sunday. These trends continued in September, with online revenue up 45 percent to $1.89 million for the month. For the year through September, it jumped 43 percent to $19.5 million. No conference call.
Earnings release| | September.