After reports that Kodak might have to cease operations based on the latest financial results, the company issued a statement indicating plans to use its pension fund to pay off a portion of its debt.
I hope Kodak's employees had other retirement savings.
According to Google: "Jim Continenza, the CEO of Eastman Kodak, received a total compensation of $6.23 million in the most recent year reported. This compensation includes a salary of $996,516 and $5.2 million in other forms of compensation, such as bonuses, company stock, and options."
Here is the full text of the statement:
Statement Regarding Misleading Media Reports
Media reports that Kodak is ceasing operations, going out of business, or filing for bankruptcy are inaccurate and reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of a recent technical disclosure the Company made to the SEC in its recently filed second quarter earnings report. These articles are misleading and missing critical context, and we'd like to set the record straight.
The most important things to know are:
- Kodak has no plans to cease operations, go out of business, or file for bankruptcy protection.
- To the contrary, Kodak is confident it will repay, extend, or refinance its debt and preferred stock on, or before, its due date.
- When the transactions we have planned are completed, which is expected to be early next year, Kodak will have a stronger balance sheet than we have had in years and will be virtually net debt free.
- The "going concern disclosure" is a technical report that is required by accounting rules.
- We will continue to meet our obligations to all pension fund participants.
Pension Fund Transaction
Kodak has been preparing for the pension plan termination for some time and expects to receive approximately $500 million of assets – after meeting our obligations to all pension fund participants – in December 2025 when the transaction closes. Approximately $300 million of the funds are expected to be cash, and approximately $200 million are expected to be investment assets that will be converted into cash.
Kodak's Debt Position
To provide context, Kodak currently has $477 million of term debt and $100 million of preferred stock outstanding. Kodak is required by its loan documents to use the $300 million of cash expected to be received in December to repay term debt. Kodak can then address the remaining $177 million of term debt and $100 million of preferred stock.
Kodak's Ongoing Operations
In addition to our focus on reducing debt and interest payments, we believe our business is stable and self-sustaining. In Q2 2025 we used only $3 million in cash, primarily to invest in growth initiatives, a significant improvement compared with Q1, and we do not plan to rely on cash from the pension fund transaction to fund our operations.
In short, Kodak is confident in its plan to meet all its obligations and optimistic about its future.
For more detailed information about this topic, please review Kodak's Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 11, 2025, including the cautionary language about forward looking statements in such filing which are incorporated by reference herein.
