Kodak’s Fifth Straight Q Loss
ROCHESTER,
N.Y. Jan. 06 – Eastman Kodak Co., undergoing a bumpy transition to
digital photography, reported its fifth consecutive quarterly loss on
Monday but said that for the first time it generated more annual sales
from digital imaging than from film-based photography.
Largely
because of restructuring costs, Kodak lost $52 million, or 18 cents a
share, in the October-December quarter, compared with a loss of $59
million, or 20 cents a share, a year ago.
Sales rose 12 percent to $4.197 billion, up from $3.76 billion in last year’s fourth quarter.
The
company’s fourth-quarter loss from continuing operations, before
interest, other income or charges and taxes was $162 million, compared
with a loss of $236 million in the year-ago quarter.
Kodak reached
an income tax-refund settlement with the Internal Revenue Service in
November that boosted its fourth-quarter profit by $243 million, but it
also racked up $283 million in after-tax restructuring charges.}
While
stung once more by the rapid slide in film sales, Kodak found solace in
its steady drive into the digital era. Its overall digital sales in the
quarter surged 45 percent to $2.67 billion, while revenues from film,
paper and other traditional, chemical-based businesses slumped 21
percent to $1.51 billion.
For all of 2005, digital sales accounted
for 54 percent of total revenue, marking the first time in the
company’s history that digital exceeded traditional sales.
In July,
the 125-year-old company disclosed plans to lay off 10,000 employees on
top of 12,000 to 15,000 job cuts targeted in January 2004.