Kodak Posts Loss, But Digital Sales Soar By Franklin Paul NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eastman Kodak Co. (EK.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) on Wednesday posted a fourth-quarter loss on restructuring costs, but strong sales of digital photography products showed its strategy shift is taking root. Shares edged up 1.5 percent even though the company said it found tax accounting errors that may require a restatement. Kodak, which is undergoing a tough transition to digital products from its flagging film business, also forecast first-half earnings above Wall Street estimates. The company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $12 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $19 million, or 7 cents a share. Excluding special items, earnings were 78 cents per share, in line with the average forecast from analysts polled by Reuters Estimates. Revenue rose 3 percent to $3.77 billion. "It looks like they are executing well in terms of the transition strategy to digital, which is the key parameter that I am looking at," said portfolio manager Christopher Carosa of Carosa, Stanton & DePaolo Asset Management, an advisor to Bullfinch Western New York Series Fund, which owns Kodak shares. Kodak said it discovered errors in its 2004 accounting for income taxes. It said it is weighing the magnitude of the mistakes, which may affect after-tax income for the fourth quarter. "We don't see any (accounting) irregularity in here," Chief Financial Officer Bob Brust told Reuters. "These are just errors, and we will get them fixed." The Rochester, New York-based company is probably the first high-profile corporation to run afoul of U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley securities legislation, which was unveiled in the wake of the Enron scandal. Kodak said it has an internal control deficiency that constitutes a material weakness. Since Kodak cannot complete the internal review of its books on time, auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers will issue an adverse opinion on the company's internal controls over financial reporting. Brust said Kodak hopes to conclude the matter in a few weeks, but the fix "may or may not require a restatement."     Continued ... Quelle "Kodak Posts Loss, But Digital Sales Soar" : reuters.com Main page for "Kodak Posts Loss, But Digital Sales Soar"