Kodak Narrows Loss Margin, Pushes Printers
Read about the financial status of Eastman Kodak Company and their plans to expand their printing industry.
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May 4, 2007* – Eastman Kodak Company today announced it is closing the gap on its financial losses with efforts for company-wide cost reduction. The company had an operating net loss of $174 million in its first fiscal quarter, versus a loss of $346 last year.
"I’m very pleased with our first-quarter performance, in which we made significant progress on our two key objectives for 2007 – new product success and cost reduction," said Kodak CEO and Chairman Antonio Perez in a company press release today. "Thus far the year is proceeding on plan."
Kodak also stayed on target for a resulting balance sheet of $1 billion. The company recently sold its manufacturing facility in Xiamen, China, which was the final step of its manufacturing restructuring plan.
While Kodak seems pleased with its first quarter results, industry analysts may be more skeptical. Kodak sales totaled a reported $2.119 billion, dropping 8 percent from $2.292 billion year-over-year.
"The per share loss was worse than the most pessimistic analyst’s forecast," according to a Reuters report today.
In the Consumer Digital Imaging Group division, Kodak sales totaled $778, down 14 percent year-over-year. Kodak attributes the falling imaging sales to a pull back from a low-priced digital camera portfolio, reduced retail photo-finishing, and overall decline in industry printing.
Kodak plans to expand its inkjet investment for 2007 as a saving grace. In February, the company entered the AiO (all-in-one) printer market for the first time with the announcement of their new line of printers. Printer shipments started in March. Kodak anticipates selling 500,000 inkjet units this year, building $50 million in capital.
"We are just beginning to scratch the surface of what we think we can achieve in the printing industry on both the consumer and commercial side," said Perez. "Now is the time to accelerate our activity and more aggressively pursue this opportunity in the interest of creating value for our shareholders."
Kodak remains in the top three of the digital camera market share in the U.S. and worldwide, according to the release.