Profits rose slightly for Lee Enterprises during the first quarter of its fiscal year. Thursday the provider of local news and advertising based in Davenport, and owner of the Quad City Times, reported earnings of 12.4 million dollars in the quarter ending in December.
That equals 22 cents per share compared with 21 cents a year ago.
Operating revenue fell 7.2 per cent and total revenue from advertising dropped 10.4 per cent. Subscription revenue fell 1.9 per cent.
But while those "traditional" measures did poorly, Lee Enterprises says its digital performance was "strong." Revenue from digital advertising and services rose 6.5 per cent. The company says digital advertising now accounts for one quarter of total advertising revenue.
Lee serves 49 markets in 21 states, with newspapers, and weekly and specialty publications.
