Kodak Says 4th Quarter Won’t Top Estimates

Eastman Kodak Co. said fourth-quarter profit will be at the low end of analysts’ forecasts because retailers aren’t stocking up on film and sales are slowing by half. The forecast came as the company said third-quarter profit from operations fell 7.7% to $430 million, or $1.40 a share, exceeding estimates that were revised after Kodak warned last month of weak results. Sales rose slightly to $3.59 billion from $3.58 billion. Analysts revised their third-quarter earnings estimates to $1.37 a share from $1.60. The company said it expects fourth-quarter earnings of $1 to $1.15 a share. Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial were expecting earnings in the range of $1.14 to $1.32. Kodak said it will reduce its manufacturing to pare inventory. Chief Executive Dan Carp said the reduction will result in job cuts, though they won’t be close to the 1997 restructuring that slashed the company’s work force by one-fifth. Shares of Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak rose $1.81 to close at $38.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.