Kodak Shutting Down? Not So Fast
"Kodak has no plans to cease operations, go out of business, or file for bankruptcy protection."
That statement on Eastman Kodak's LinkedIn page sought to set the record straight after headlines this week cast doubt on the future of the 133-year-old company. Those news outlets cited a line in Kodak's earnings report that it lacks “committed financing or available liquidity” to pay $500 million in upcoming debt obligations. “These conditions raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” Kodak wrote in the report.
The “going concern” language in Kodak’s 10-Q was essentially a required disclosure because Kodak’s debt comes due within 12 months of the filing, according to an article in Printing Impressions. Media reports of that disclosure, Kodak's statement noted, "reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of a recent technical disclosure the company made to the SEC in its recently filed second quarter earnings report.
"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," continued Kodak in its statement. The company plans to get funding by stopping payments to its retirement pension plan.
Read a more detailed account of the situation in this Printing Impressions article.
