Kodak Posts Fourth Straight Quarterly Loss

Kodak traditionally benefits from a bump in holiday season sales, from October through December. Perez said the company hopes for a "modest improvement" in its markets and that its new, higher-margin digital cameras and devices will click with consumers.

In the third quarter, Kodak posted several charges and gains, totaling 18 cents per share, mainly related to restructuring, asset sales and taxes. Excluding these items, Kodak lost $63 million, or 23 cents a share. On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 19 cents per share.

Revenue from digital businesses plunged 26 percent to $1.21 billion and traditional film-based revenue fell 25 percent to $572 million.

Sales of its consumer inkjet hardware and ink products more than doubled in the third quarter, however, while customer commitments for its Prosper commercial printers "continue to grow rapidly," Perez said.

In 2009, Kodak aims to double to more than 2 million the number of inkjet printers sold to consumers. Yet that business isn't expected to become profitable until 2011. The company estimates that consumer inkjet overall is a $50 billion market.

As its film and photofinishing businesses have struggled, Kodak has tapped its inkjet expertise and splurged on acquisitions. It hopes to grab a stake in markets where Hewlett-Packard, Ricoh, Xerox, and Fuji also are doing battle.