Is Kodak Going Out of Business?

The Current State of Kodak Film

The Eastman Kodak Company began as a partnership between George Eastman and Henry A. Strong to develop a film roll camera. The first Kodak camera was released before the company was incorporated in 1892, and the brand has gone on to become synonymous with analog film.

Obviously, in the past few decades, the industry has shifted away from analog and towards digital. Kodak and many legacy brands in the space have struggled to adjust. Yet, with products like the Kodak Super 8 being announced, there has been hope for a revival.

Still, reports of financial troubles and a possible cessation of operations have been widely covered online.

The Future of Kodak

Still, according to a blog post put out by Kodak, the company says that any reports that Kodak is ceasing operations, going out of business, or filing for bankruptcy are inaccurate and reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of a recent technical disclosure the Company made to the SEC in its recently filed second quarter earnings report.

The company further argues that these articles are misleading and missing critical context, for which the company is looking to set the record straight on the following accounts:

"Kodak has no plans to cease operations, go out of business, or file for bankruptcy protection.

To the contrary, Kodak is confident it will repay, extend, or refinance its debt and preferred stock on, or before, its due date.

When the transactions we have planned are completed, which is expected to be early next year, Kodak will have a stronger balance sheet than we have had in years and will be virtually net debt free.

The "going concern disclosure" is a technical report that is required by accounting rules.

We will continue to meet our obligations to all pension fund participants."

The blog post, which you can read in its entirety here, further goes on to detail the state of Kodak’s Pension Fund Transaction, its debt position, and its ongoing operations. It sums up its position by saying that it is “confident in its plan to meet all its obligations and optimistic about its future.”