Eastman Kodak reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $12 million, weighed down by restructuring charges, yet the company's underlying performance surpassed analyst expectations. Excluding one-time items, operating profit reached $238 million, or 78 cents per share, well above the Wall Street consensus of 66 cents per share.
Quarterly revenue climbed 3 percent to $3.77 billion. A 40 percent surge in digital sales compensated for a 16 percent decline in traditional film revenue, reflecting the company's ongoing shift away from analog photography.
Kodak cautioned that fourth-quarter figures remain preliminary after accountants discovered errors in income-tax calculations tied to the complexity of overseas tax obligations. The company said the discrepancies should not affect pretax earnings, revenue, or cash flow, though after-tax earnings could see some impact.
For the full year 2004, Kodak earned $649 million, up sharply from $265 million in 2003, on revenues of $13.5 billion, a 5 percent increase. Chairman and CEO Daniel Carp said the company is committed to raising per-share operational earnings again in 2005, adding that digital sales are expected to surpass traditional sales for the first time.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.