Kodak’s first-quarter revenues drop 4% but profit improves

“Kodak continued to make progress in the first quarter, generating cash and increasing our gross profit year over year in the face of significant headwinds,” said Jim Continenza, Kodak’s Executive Chairman and CEO. “These improvements didn’t just happen. They are the result of a wide range of actions we have taken over the last four years to put us on a path to sustainable growth and profitability. We are continuing to invest in four long-term growth initiatives in our Advanced Materials and Chemicals group, and we are starting to see contributions from that business. We have invested in a significant infrastructure upgrade, including expanded implementation of Salesforce and SAP, that has made us materially better in terms of efficiency. We have successfully introduced two groundbreaking inkjet presses and KODACHROME Inks, the gold standard for color. And, most importantly, we continue to execute on our go-to-market strategy, staying close to our customers and developing solutions that address their challenges and create new opportunities. We put our customers first because we know we only win when our customers win.”

Kodak ended the first quarter of 2023 with a cash balance of $225 million, an increase of $8 million from Dec. 31, 2022, compared with a decrease of $53 million in the first quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily driven by improved performance in working capital, improved profitability from operations, proceeds from insurance reimbursement and a refund from a governmental authority in a location outside the U.S.

“Kodak got off to a strong start in the first quarter, increasing our cash balance from $217 million to $225 million and increasing our gross profit by 52 percent year over year while continuing to invest in both product innovation and our long-term growth initiatives,” said David Bullwinkle, Kodak’s CFO. “Our ability to make these improvements despite continuing challenges of inflation and supply chain disruptions reflects the positive impact of changes we have made as part of our strategic plan to drive operational efficiency and smart revenue.”

Effective February 2023 Kodak changed its organizational structure. The Traditional Printing segment and the Digital Printing segment were combined into one segment, named the Print segment. No changes were made to Kodak’s other segments. Eastman Business Park segment is not a reportable segment and is excluded from the table above.