KODAK SALES RISE ON SONORA PLATES

Kodak sales rose by 10 per cent in the second quarter, with its Traditional Printing division its best performing arm, as the company saw sales reach US$321m for the period.

Traditional Printing – offset plates – saw revenue increase by 15 per cent to $US$194m from US$194m, with EBITDA increasing by 60 per cent to US$10m from US$6m.

The company said continued growth in its Sonora process free plates was driving the increase in revenue, and said its result would have been even higher had it not been for continued global cost increases.

Speaking at PacPrint ANZ regional sales director Rob Mollee said 80 per cent of Kodak plate sales in this region were now process-free, a figure he anticipates will rise to close to 100 per cent in the next 18 months.

The quarter saw the official launch of two new digital Ultrastream products, the Kodak Prosper Ultra 520 for commercial work and the Uteco Sapphire Evo W Press for flexible packaging. It also announced the Prosper 700 Turbo, and brought the Ascend digital sheetfed packaging press to market.

Jim Continenza, executive chairman and CEO said, “We continue to invest in digital print technologies designed to help our customers mitigate cost and supply risks associated with traditional prepress,”

Sales slipped in the digital division in the quarter though, to US$58m, while sales in Advanced Materials & Chemicals increased by 12 per cent to US $61m, with operational EBITDA flat at $1m.