Kodak reports $283 million profit in Q1 2013

Kodak has returned to more profitable ways after announcing a $283 million net income during the first quarter of 2013.

It is widely known that Kodak has filed for Chapter 11 protection back in January 2012. The company went bankrupt even though it is regarded as one of the most innovative imaging companies of all time and the inventor of the digital camera.

Unannounced Kodak PixPro mirrorless camera spotted at P&E Show 2013. It should provide even more money when it becomes available this year.

Kodak Q1 2013 earnings report: $283 million profit

A long history does not guarantee success, but it also does not mean that Kodak should give up. Despite the fact that its losses for 2012 reached an amount of over $1.3 billion, CEO Antonio Perez stated that the company will emerge out of bankruptcy sometime in mid-2013.

It appears that Perez is right, as the company provided good news in the space of less than 24 hours. Yesterday, Kodak handed over its personalized imaging and document imaging business to the UK Pension Plan, in order to pay a debt of $2.8 billion. Now, the firm has reported a quarterly profit of $283 million.

The Rochester-based company is back on track after a long run of negative balances. In the first quarter of 2012, Kodak announced a loss off $366 million, therefore the news that the company made a successful comeback to profit in such a short amount of space is encouraging.

Patent portfolio sale accounted for most of the money

Most of the profit comes from the sale of its digital imaging patents to several companies, such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Facebook for an amount of $538 million, not $527 million as previously reported.

However, some of its businesses are still losing money. The Digital Printing and Enterprise subsidiary lost $8 million. Even though it is a loss, it should be compared to the $89 million one in Q1 2012.

On the other hand, the Graphics, Entertainment, and Commercial Films subsidiary announced a profit of $38 million, which can be put in contradiction with the $84 million loss just one year earlier.

Experts believe that Kodak will announce its emergence out of bankruptcy sometime over the following months, shortly after the regulators will approve the handing over of its personalized and document imaging businesses to UK retirees.