Kodak 'alive and well' in Asia-Pacific

Eastman Kodak, the 133-year-old company that invented hand-held cameras, expects to emerge next year from bankruptcy protection supporting its business transformation, concentrating on printing services for the consumer and commercial segments.

The company previously announced a plan to phase out its business of dedicated capture devices comprising digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames.

Kodak yesterday insisted that its business in the Asia-Pacific region would not be affected significantly by the US headquarters’ filing for bankruptcy protection.

Andy Cooper, vice president for consumer business, Asia-Pacific, said in an online conference with Thai media yesterday that Kodak’s operations in the region would run as usual.

He said the filing was made in US Bankruptcy Court in Lower Manhattan, New York. Non-US subsidiaries, however, were not part of the filing.

“Kodak has a strong business foundation and footprint in Asia. We also have a bright future in this region,” Cooper said.

He said the filing under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code would give Kodak 12-18 months to reorganise itself and come out even stronger.

 

Capital injection

Citigroup is providing US$950 million (Bt29 billion) in financing to allow the company to keep going. Kodak plans to continue operating normally during the bankruptcy. It will also seek to continue selling a portfolio of 1,100 digital-imaging patents to raise cash for its loss-making operations.

“In Asia-Pacific, our business performed very well last year, with double-digit growth achieved in key business segments, both commercial businesses such as packaging, newspapers, publishing, digital printing solutions, and pre-press offset, and in consumer businesses such as digital photo lab printing and event imaging,” Cooper said. “We expect to see significant growth this year in the Asia-Pacific region.” 

He said the region contributed about 20 per cent of the company’s revenue. Kodak has six manufacturing plants, 4,000 employees, three research and development centres, and business operations in 13 key markets throughout the region, including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The company also has 2,000 Kodak Express stores in Southeast Asia, including about 300 in Thailand.

“We have a strong foundation and a healthy financial position in Asia with capable, experienced and strong people in all key markets in the region,” Cooper said.

He said the industry trend for digital capture devices had been negative for some time, and Kodak was getting out of that business. In some major markets such as China and India, the sales of many capture devices, especially point-and-shoot cameras, have clearly declined gradually over the past years. 

The market has been seriously affected by the growing number of smart phones such as iPhones, which have photo-capture devices built in. However, Kodak plans to capture the market opportunity when people share images and upload them to social networks.

Founded in 1880 by George Eastman, Kodak became one of America’s most notable companies helping establish the market for camera film. 

However, it has suffered from many problems over the past decades, including the onset of digital photography eroding demand for traditional film.