Kodak reports big net losses

Sales of digital products by Eastman Kodak were up by 23 percent in the first quarter of the year, but traditional film sales dropped 29 percent worldwide and 17 percent in the United States. This has led to layoffs and factory closings as Kodak makes the change from traditional to digital photographic technologies.

This shift, as well as the high restructuring costs it entails, gave Kodak a net loss of $142 million in the first quarter of 2005. This is in comparison to earnings of $21 million in the same quarter last year. Kodak’s shares fell 8 percent in early trading on Friday in consequence of the report, as even discounting $152 million in exceptional costs, the resulting earnings of $9 million for the quarter were still below estimates.

Kodak is in process of shifting its operations from traditional photography to digital products, high-volume printing, and health imaging. By 2006 Kodak expects to lose 15,000 employees and to close about a third of its factories in the transition.

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