Kodak Reports Q1 Results Improved Significantly Year-Over-Year

Other first-quarter 2010 details:

The company’s first-quarter earnings from continuing operations, before interest expense, other income (charges), net, and income taxes were $389 million, an improvement of $725 million as compared with a loss on the same basis of $336 million in the year-ago quarter. This earnings improvement is composed of operational improvements, including productivity gains, and the impact of the non-recurring intellectual property transaction.

Gross Profit was 41.1% of sales, as compared to 13.1% in the year-ago period. This increase in margin was driven by the non-recurring intellectual property transaction, continued productivity improvements, and favorable foreign exchange. Excluding the impact of the non-recurring intellectual property transaction, gross profit improved nearly five percentage points.

Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) expenses, on a GAAP basis, were $310 million in the first quarter, down 1%, from $313 million in the year-ago quarter.

Research and Development expenses, on a GAAP basis, were $79 million in the first quarter, down $26 million, from $105 million in the year-ago quarter, as the company focuses research dollars on its core growth businesses.

First-quarter 2010 cash generation, before restructuring payments, improved by $301 million, representing a usage of $456 million in the current quarter, compared with cash usage on the same basis of $757 million in the year-ago quarter. This corresponds to net cash used in continuing operations from operating activities on a GAAP basis of $471 million in the first quarter of 2010, compared with a net cash usage of $781 million in the first quarter of 2009. This improvement was primarily driven by reduced usage of working capital and higher cash earnings. Notably, cash received from intellectual property transactions was essentially the same year-over-year. As has been the case in previous years, the company expects to generate the majority of its cash flow during the second half of the year, consistent with its historic seasonal pattern.