Digital Sales Lift Kodak Earnings

Eastman Kodak Co. said Wednesday that first-quarter profit more than doubled as Chief Executive Daniel Carp’s push into digital imaging spurred the biggest sales gain in eight years.

Net income climbed to $28 million, or 10 cents a share, from $12 million, or 4 cents, a year earlier, Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak said. Sales rose 11% to $2.92 billion.

Digital revenue rose 44%, helped by the purchase of Scitex Corp.’s inkjet printer business and demand for digital cameras. Carp has introduced new digital camera models and made purchases in medical equipment and commercial printing. He reduced debt by $282 million in the quarter to $2.97 billion.

“The fact that they’re paying down debt faster than they said is an indication of how strong the quarter was,” said Herbert Denton, founder of Providence Capital in New York.

Excluding discontinued operations, restructuring costs and other one-time items, profit was 18 cents a share, Kodak said. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected 17 cents.

Kodak boosted its 2004 profit forecast to $2.15 to $2.45 a share, from $2.05 to $2.35.

Shares of Kodak rose 66 cents, or 2.6%, to $25.70 on the New York Stock Exchange.