HOME INKJET PRINTER SALES , A BRIGHT SPOT FOR KODAK

[Anonymous]

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090131/BUSINESS/901310325/1001
Home inkjet printer bright spot for Kodak
Eastman
Kodak Co., which knows very well about making motion picture film and
digital cameras, in 2007 jumped into an entirely new product line of
inkjet printers for the home.
While the company is trying to force
its way into a crowded marketplace — as evidenced by the numerous
printers available at any Best Buy store — Kodak’s All-in-One inkjet
printers are moving off the shelves at an increasing clip.

Sales
of the All-in-One, which is manufactured overseas for the
Rochester-based company, constituted a piece of positive news from
Kodak this week as it announced a fourth-quarter loss, a drop in
overall sales and plans for a new round of layoffs worldwide.”Despite
the external challenges, there were many positive signs,” Chief
Executive Antonio M. Perez told investment analysts Thursday.The bits
of good news were heavily outweighed by the bad, including word that
Kodak will eliminate 1,300 Rochester-area jobs by spring.Kodak stock
continued to lose value Friday, closing at $4.53, down 46 cents, or
more than 9 percent.

On Thursday, Kodak shares plunged close to
30 percent.Also on Friday, credit rating agency Fitch Ratings
downgraded its evaluation of Kodak based on expectations that the
company’s profits would continue to fall through 2009.Kodak jumped into
the home inkjet printer market with a goal of selling 500,000 in
2007.It ended up moving 520,000 units that year, with consumers buying
320,000 of them.In 2008, it moved 780,000 units to retailers, with
consumers buying 730,000.The All-in-One line retails for $100 to $300
each.

For the fourth quarter of 2008, All-in-One sales were off
slightly as consumer spending everywhere dried up.However, those
million-plus printers on desks worldwide continue to generate money for
Kodak in the form of high-profit-margin consumables such as ink
cartridges and photo paper, said company spokesman David Lanzillo.And
users go through, on average, eight inkjet cartridges a year — higher
than the industry average.Kodak’s consumer inkjet revenue grew 32
percent during 2008, though it didn’t say whether the product was
profitable.In the past, the company has said it would take several
years before the costs of starting up the product line were recouped.

Among other high points in the company’s 2008 results:
Kodak’s
Stream commercial inkjet print system will hit the market later this
year.The company has been working on Stream technology, a digital
printing process with extremely high quality reproduction capabilities,
for about 10 years.

While a Stream printer won’t be commercially
available until 2010, Perez said, the Stream print head will be
available late this year.The company announced earlier this month that
it has its first customer for Stream print heads, an Ohio commercial
printer, lined up.Although other business groups’ revenues were down by
double-digit percentages in 2008, Kodak’s graphic communications group
sales dipped only 2 percent because of demand for plates for digital
printing presses, said Chief Financial Officer Frank Sklarsky.

[Author]

February 3, 2009 at 4:47 PM