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Kodak beats 4Q estimate
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January 24, 2000: 8:49 a.m. ET
Improved sales, better cost controls cited for sharp earnings increase
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Eastman Kodak Co. reported sharply higher fourth-quarter earnings Monday as it ended the year beating estimates in every quarter.
The Rochester, N.Y., film and camera maker earned $403 million, or $1.27 per diluted share, before special charges and items in the quarter. That beat an estimate of $1.24 by analysts surveyed by First Call, and was up 21 percent from the $344 million, or $1.05 a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Including special items and charges, net income rose 81 percent in the quarter to $475 million, or $1.50 a diluted share, from $272 million, or 83 cents a share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 7 percent to $3.8 billion. Prices of consumer film, which had been dropping, were stable in the quarter, while volume increases led to a 9 percent gain in revenue.
Kodak (EK) said the better profit resulted from both revenue growth and efforts to control costs, with cost-cutting measures producing savings of $180 million for the quarter and $520 million for
the year, exceeding goals.
The company said it is not being hurt by the growth of digital photography. In an interview on CNNfn, President and CEO Dan Carp said digital is helping spur growth in photography overall, rather than eating into film sales.
"We have a top position in digital cameras," said Carp. "In fact, in a six-week period that ended Jan. 14, we scanned 40 million images for people to use. It's like a treasure chest, opening up new things to do with pictures."
Revenue from digital products increased 46 percent to $2.3 billion for the full year. But while profitability in the sector improved, it still had operating losses of $17 million in its digital portfolio in the quarter and $116 million for the full year, compared with losses of $91 million in the year-ago quarter and $262 million in 1998.
For the year, Kodak had earnings before charges and items of $2.5 billion, or $7.63 a diluted share, up 19 percent from $2.1 billion, or $6.3 a diluted share, the previous year.
Net income after charges and items was $1.4 billion for both 1999 and 1998, with earnings per diluted share of $4.33 in 1999 and $4.24 in 1998.
Revenue for the year rose 5 percent to $14.1 billion from $13.4 billion reported for 1998.
Kodak's stock closed down 1/8 Friday at 60-3/4. 
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Eastman Kodak Co.
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