Photography giant Eastman Kodak has swung into profit in the fourth quarter but it says the outlook is uncertain. It plans to cut 2,300 to 2,900 jobs this year.
Over the whole of 2002, the group made a net profit of $770m, more than 10 times the net profit of just $76m a year earlier. Sales in 2002 fell 3% to $12.84 billion.
'The company's success in 2002 reflected our commitment to managing well those things within our control during a period of economic weakness,' said Kodak chairman and chief executive Daniel Carp.
'While the economy constrained sales, profit rose as we cut costs, improved our manufacturing productivity and introduced a number of exciting new products,' he said. The company also cut debt in the year by $594m to $2.6 billion.
Kodak gave a cautious forecast for 2003, 'reflecting continued economic weakness, increased consumer use of digital photography and the difficulty of making forecast as global tensions rise'.
Kodak said it made a net profit of $113m in the three months to December 31, compared with a net loss of $206m a share a year earlier.
The company said it planned to cut jobs in 2003 by between 2,300 and 2,900, of which plans to cut 500 to 700 had already been announced. The company has about 70,000 workers worldwide. Many of the cuts will come from Kodak's photofinishing operations in the US and Europe.