Analysts Underestimate Kodak; Stock Soars
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (
) --
Eastman Kodak
(EK)
stock surged Thursday after the company hinted at a rosy 2010 scenario and presented fourth quarter earnings that far exceeded analysts' expectations.
"We enter the new year with the most competitive digital portfolio ever, strong presence in key markets, and a significant amount of positive momentum," Eastman Kodak's chief executive Antonio Perez said in a statement. "All of this positions us well for improved performance in 2010."
Eastman Kodak stock has surged 17.7% to $5.60. The three-month average daily volume for Eastman Kodak is about 6.2 million, according to Yahoo! Finance. About 40.3 million shares traded hands today.
Kodak says that it continues to gain strong traction in consumer inkjet, commercial inkjet, enterprise software and digital plates.
The consensus estimate for Kodak's full-year fiscal 2010 results has been a 52-cent loss -- although it bear noting that consensus estimates greatly underestimated the company's outcome for the fourth quarter.
Kodak will provide a detailed outlook for 2010 at its annual meeting with investors on February 4 in New York City.
Kodak reported GAAP fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $430 million, or $1.36 per share, compared with a loss on the same basis of $914 million, or $3.40 per share, in the year-ago period. Kodak saw fourth quarter earnings of $1.08 excluding exceptional items.
The company's fourth-quarter sales were $2.58 billion, a sequential increase of 45% from the third quarter of 2009 and a 6% increase from the year-ago quarter, including 4% of favorable foreign exchange impact.
Revenue from digital businesses totaled about $1.99 billion, a 12% increase from about $1.78 billion in the prior-year quarter, resulting from the combination of an increase in non-recurring intellectual property licensing revenue and increased demand for consumer inkjet printer systems, kiosk media and digital plates.
Analysts that Thomson Reuters polled arrived at an earnings estimate of 18 cents per share on revenue of $2.38 billion.
-- Reported by Andrea Tse in New York
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