Lee Enterprises reports Q4 EPS (32c) vs. ($1.23) last year

Reports Q4 revenue $164M vs. $193.6M last year. “Our fourth quarter digital subscription results lead the industry by a significant margin, continuing the streak for 16 consecutive quarters. Subscribers to our digital products totaled 721,000, up 36% compared to last year and digital-only subscription revenue accelerated–growing 68% on a Same-store basis,” said Kevin Mowbray, Lee‘s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Amplified Digital revenue totaled $24 million in the quarter, leading to an 11% increase over the prior year. Total Digital Revenue increased 14% in the quarter, and represented 44% of our total operating revenue. The rapid pace of digital growth is driven by our strong execution of our Three Pillar Digital Growth Strategy,” Mowbray added. “Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was up 29% sequentially, due to our rapid digital growth and strong cost management execution,” said Mowbray. “Our aggressive cost actions in FY23, as well as the strong performance of our digital revenue streams, will have a favorable impact on FY24 operating results. We anticipate full year FY24 Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $83 million to $90 million,” added Mowbray. “The long-standing industry-leading digital execution gives us even more confidence in our transformation. In fact, the best-in-class performance increases our long-term outlook on digital-only subscribers by one-third to 1.2 million and digital subscription revenue by approximately 50% to more than $150 million. These significant improvements to our long-term outlook demonstrate our confidence in Lee’s digital transformation. We are on a clear path to becoming sustainable solely from the revenue and cash flow from our digital products,” said Mowbray.