Kodak has announced the possible closure of the business

Eastman Kodak, a 133-year-old photography company, said it may shut down operations due to a lack of funds to service its debts. Kodak’s liabilities exceeded its financial capacity, according to its quarterly report, and its prospects for continued operations were in doubt.

According to its quarterly report, Kodak’s liabilities exceeded its financial capacity, and its prospects for continued operations were in doubt.

The company doesn’t have the resources to pay its debts

In a filing released Monday, Kodak acknowledged a lack of “guaranteed funding and available liquidity” to repay about $500 million in debt. The company explicitly stated in the document, “These circumstances cast serious doubt on Kodak’s ability to continue to operate.”

The company said in a statement released Monday that it has no “guaranteed funding and no available liquidity” to repay about $500 million in debt.

As a crisis response, management plans to suspend payments to its pension program. In addition, the statement said the import duties will not have a material impact on the business because most of the products, including cameras, film and ink, are made domestically in the U.S.

“In the second quarter, Kodak continued to drive our long-term strategy despite a volatile market environment.”

In comments to CNN on Tuesday, a company spokesman expressed confidence that Kodak will be able to repay a significant portion of its loans ahead of schedule and restructure its remaining debt on loans and preferred stock.

Despite the upbeat rhetoric, shares of Eastman Kodak (ticker symbol KODK) fell more than 25 percent in afternoon trading Tuesday.

From photo industry pioneer to bankruptcy

The company was founded in 1892, but its story began earlier, in 1879, when George Eastman received a patent for a machine for applying emulsion to photographic plates. In 1888, he produced the first Kodak camera at a price of $25, making photography available to the general public.

Eastman came up with the name “Kodak” himself: “I liked the letter K – it seemed strong and expressive.” His slogan, “You push the button, we do the rest,” came to symbolize a new era of consumer photography.

At the height of its success in the 1970s, Kodak controlled 90% of the photographic film market and 85% of camera sales in the US. Paul Simon’s song “Kodachrome” in 1973 only increased public recognition of the brand.

Paradoxically, it was Kodak that first developed a digital camera – in 1975. However, the company failed to capitalize on the technological breakthrough and lost the market to competitors. It declared bankruptcy in 2012, with 100,000 creditors and $6.75 billion in debts.

Hope to Refocus

In 2020, Kodak briefly returned to the spotlight: the U.S. government selected the company as a supplier of pharmaceutical ingredients. At the time, Kodak’s stock soared so fast that trading on it was suspended 20 times in one day.

At the time, Kodak’s stock was soaring so fast that trading on it was suspended 20 times in one day.

Since then, the company has continued to supply chemicals and film to businesses, including movie studios, as well as licensing the brand for consumer products. In addition, it expects to develop a pharmaceutical business.

The current financial situation, however, is jeopardizing even existing projects. The prospect of Kodak shutting down its operations is a wake-up call for an industry once built around film and cameras.