Lee Enterprises Inc. (LEE, Financial) filed Quarterly Report for the period ended 2009-06-28.
LEE ENTERPRISES INC. is a premier publisher of local news information and advertising in primarily midsize markets with 50 daily newspapers and a joint interest in four others rapidly growing online sites and more than 300 weekly newspapers and specialty publications in 23 states. Lee\'s newspapers have circulation of 1.6 million daily and 1.9 million Sunday reaching more than four million readers daily. Lee\'s online sites attract 12 million unique visitors monthly and Lee\'s weekly publications have distribution of more than 4.5 million households. Lee\'s other newspaper markets include St. Louis Mo.; Lincoln Neb.; Madison Wis.; Davenport Iowa; Billings Mont.; Bloomington Ill.; and Tucson Ariz. Lee Enterprises Inc. has a market cap of $74 million; its shares were traded at around $1.65 with a P/E ratio of 5.3 and P/S ratio of 0.1. Lee Enterprises Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 6.5% over the past 10 years.
Because of the timing of the determination of impairment and complexity of the calculations required, the amounts recorded in the 13 weeks ended March 29, 2009, were preliminary. The final analysis, which was completed in the 13 weeks ended June 28, 2009, resulted in additional pretax, non-cash charges of $18,575,000 to reduce the carrying value of goodwill. The Company also recorded additional, non-cash pretax charges of $14,920,000 to reduce the carrying value of amortizable intangible assets and reduced previously recorded charges for nonamortized intangible assets by $3,829,000. $10,000,000 of additional pretax charges were recorded as a reduction in the carrying value of the Companys investment in TNI. The Company recorded $11,720,000 of income tax benefits related to these charges in the 13 weeks ended June 28, 2009.
As of December 24, 2008, the Companys Common Stock traded at an average 30-day closing market price of less than $1 per share. The Companys equity market capitalization may also fall under the $15,000,000 minimum requirement of the NYSE at some future date. Under the NYSE listing standards, if the Companys Common Stock fails to maintain an adequate per share price and total market capitalization, the Companys Common Stock could be removed from the NYSE and traded in the over the counter market. In a letter dated December 30, 2008 the NYSE notified the Company that it does not meet the NYSE continued listing standard due to its failure to maintain a minimum share price. The Company has until December 3, 2009 to cure the deficiency relating to that listing standard. If share trading prices in early August 2009 remain above the NYSE minimum, the Company expects to cure such compliance deficiency at the end of August 2009. All of these factors, along with otherwise volatile equity market conditions, could limit the Companys ability to raise new equity capital in the future.
Same property commercial printing revenue decreased $934,000, or 21.1%, in the 13 weeks ended June 28, 2009. Same property online services and other revenue decreased $1,163,000, or 14.3%, in the 13 weeks ended June 28, 2009.
Read the The complete ReportLEE is in the portfolios of John Rogers of ARIEL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC.
LEE ENTERPRISES INC. is a premier publisher of local news information and advertising in primarily midsize markets with 50 daily newspapers and a joint interest in four others rapidly growing online sites and more than 300 weekly newspapers and specialty publications in 23 states. Lee\'s newspapers have circulation of 1.6 million daily and 1.9 million Sunday reaching more than four million readers daily. Lee\'s online sites attract 12 million unique visitors monthly and Lee\'s weekly publications have distribution of more than 4.5 million households. Lee\'s other newspaper markets include St. Louis Mo.; Lincoln Neb.; Madison Wis.; Davenport Iowa; Billings Mont.; Bloomington Ill.; and Tucson Ariz. Lee Enterprises Inc. has a market cap of $74 million; its shares were traded at around $1.65 with a P/E ratio of 5.3 and P/S ratio of 0.1. Lee Enterprises Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 6.5% over the past 10 years.
Highlight of Business Operations:
In the 13 weeks ended December 28, 2008 and March 29, 2009, the Company, based on its most recent analysis and in conjunction with its ongoing requirement to assess the carrying value and estimated useful lives of goodwill and identified intangible assets, concluded that the carrying value of goodwill exceeded its fair value. As a result, the Company recorded pretax, non-cash charges to reduce the carrying value of goodwill by $67,781,000 and $107,115,000, in the 13 weeks ended December 28, 2008 and March 29, 2009, respectively. The Company also recorded pretax, non-cash charges of $17,884,000 and $18,928,000 to reduce the value of nonamortized and amortizable intangible assets, respectively, in the 13 weeks ended March 29, 2009. Additional pretax, non-cash charges of $9,951,000 were recorded to reduce the carrying value of TNI in the 13 weeks ended March 29, 2009. These charges resulted in recognition of a significant loss per share for the 26 weeks ended March 29, 2009, and will result in a loss for the 52 weeks ending September 27, 2009.Because of the timing of the determination of impairment and complexity of the calculations required, the amounts recorded in the 13 weeks ended March 29, 2009, were preliminary. The final analysis, which was completed in the 13 weeks ended June 28, 2009, resulted in additional pretax, non-cash charges of $18,575,000 to reduce the carrying value of goodwill. The Company also recorded additional, non-cash pretax charges of $14,920,000 to reduce the carrying value of amortizable intangible assets and reduced previously recorded charges for nonamortized intangible assets by $3,829,000. $10,000,000 of additional pretax charges were recorded as a reduction in the carrying value of the Companys investment in TNI. The Company recorded $11,720,000 of income tax benefits related to these charges in the 13 weeks ended June 28, 2009.
As of December 24, 2008, the Companys Common Stock traded at an average 30-day closing market price of less than $1 per share. The Companys equity market capitalization may also fall under the $15,000,000 minimum requirement of the NYSE at some future date. Under the NYSE listing standards, if the Companys Common Stock fails to maintain an adequate per share price and total market capitalization, the Companys Common Stock could be removed from the NYSE and traded in the over the counter market. In a letter dated December 30, 2008 the NYSE notified the Company that it does not meet the NYSE continued listing standard due to its failure to maintain a minimum share price. The Company has until December 3, 2009 to cure the deficiency relating to that listing standard. If share trading prices in early August 2009 remain above the NYSE minimum, the Company expects to cure such compliance deficiency at the end of August 2009. All of these factors, along with otherwise volatile equity market conditions, could limit the Companys ability to raise new equity capital in the future.
Same property commercial printing revenue decreased $934,000, or 21.1%, in the 13 weeks ended June 28, 2009. Same property online services and other revenue decreased $1,163,000, or 14.3%, in the 13 weeks ended June 28, 2009.
Read the The complete ReportLEE is in the portfolios of John Rogers of ARIEL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC.
