Lee Enterprises Provides Update On Digital Transformation Strategy and Growth Targets - Seite 2

Long-Term Targets

Within the next five years, Lee aims to realize the following goals:

• Grow total paid subscribers, reaching 900,000 digital-only subscribers;
• Generate $100 million in annualized revenue from our Amplified Digital Agency, which is expected in three years; and
• Achieve our long-term leverage target of under 2.5x.
  

“Lee has already made significant progress on our plan,” Mowbray added. “In addition to driving significant sequential revenue improvement and delivering industry-leading digital subscriber growth of more than 69% in each of the last five quarters, Lee has also made significant investments in talent and technology to realize our digital future. We are launching new niche content platforms and have begun piloting cutting-edge dynamic metering technology to drive subscription conversion. We also established a centralized, efficient model for our Amplified Digital Agency, launched our custom content division Brand Avenue Studios, and continued to expand our sales organization to more than 900 sellers focused on driving revenue from new e-commerce and first party data sales strategies.”

Transfer to the Nasdaq

Lee announced it intends to transfer its stock exchange listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Lee shares are expected to begin trading as a Nasdaq-listed security on April 19, 2021, with the common stock continuing to trade under the symbol “LEE.”

"Trading on Nasdaq positions Lee alongside the world's most innovative and forward-thinking technology leaders as we accelerate our ongoing digital transformation," Mowbray continued. "We look forward to leveraging Nasdaq’s platforms and solutions to support ongoing engagement with our investors and access to information in a way that is a cost-effective and seamless."

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call and webcast today at 9 a.m. Central Time to discuss its digital transformation update. A presentation that will be presented on the conference call is available in advance on the Company’s investor relations website, investors.lee.net. The live webcast will be available for replay two hours later. Questions may be submitted by participating in the webcast. The call also may be monitored on a listen-only conference line by dialing (toll free) 800-368-1029 and entering a conference passcode of 372971 at least five minutes before the scheduled start. Participants on the listen-only line will not have the opportunity to ask questions.