From the world's first digital camera to $500m debt: what happened to Kodak
The legendary Kodak is 133 years old, but it may not be celebrating its next birthday. In a fresh report to investors, the company frankly admitted: there is "substantial doubt" that it will be able to continue operating if it doesn't pay off or renegotiate its debts within a year.
Here's What We Know
Debt - about $500 million, cash on accounts - $155 million. In the second quarter, the loss was $26 million, and since the end of last year from the cash register "evaporated" another $46 million. In such a situation, Kodak bets on reducing costs: last year announced the closure of the pension plan in the U.S. to direct the freed funds to pay off debts.
Financial crises are nothing new for Kodak. The company had already gone through bankruptcy in 2012. After that, it tried to diversify: it engaged in commercial printing, chemical production, even tried to enter the world of blockchain with the KodakCoin project to protect photographers' copyrights. But the "cryptocurrency venture" remained in press releases.
The story of failure has not weaned the company from looking for new niches: now Kodak is developing a pharmaceutical business and building a plant in Rochester (NY) to produce ingredients for medicines.
Prototype of the world's first digital camera. Illustration: George Eastman Museum
Kodak once created the first digital camera (1975), but missed the moment when the whole world started carrying cameras in smartphones. Now the question is whether it can survive another market pivot - or become a textbook example in business schools.
Source: Gizmodo
