Digital key to Kodak future

Kodak’s 2010 results reflect steady growth in digital print, while share prices drop.

Full-year sales for Kodak in 2010 were $7.187 billion, a six per cent decrease from the previous year. The digital businesses grow by one per cent, however, reflecting an 18 per cent revenue increase in the consumer and commercial inkjet, packaging solutions and workflow software and services businesses.

Revenue for inkjet printers and ink grew by 35 per cent, while traditional revenue for 2010 decreased 22 per cent from the prior year to $1.767 billion. This growth will form the basis of Kodak’s digital future, according to chairman and CEO, Antonio Perez.

“This was our best digital earnings performance ever, and in line with our segment earnings forecast for the year,” he said. “During 2010, these new businesses grew by a combined 18 per cent, and all of our digital businesses as a group delivered more than $300 million in earnings for the year.”

Perez also admitted that “there were particular business challenges in 2010 that we are aggressively addressing”. Some of these factors included a decline in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2010 due to industry-related pricing pressures in prepress solutions and digital capture and devices.

Kodak’s new managing director, Adrian Fleming, was unable to comment on the local market.