Kodak exposed as revenue falls

EASTMAN KODAK, the world's largest photography company, said fourth- quarter profits rose a lower-than-forecast 39 per cent and warned that 1999 earnings may also fall short of analysts' expectations. Kodak's stock dropped 11 per cent after the chairman, George Fisher, said 1999 profits would, at best, meet current estimates.

Kodak managed its third straight rise in quarterly profit because it is cutting a fifth of its workforce. Profits gained from property and investment gains that Kodak said would continue in 1999. Yet revenue fell for the eighth consecutive quarter as Kodak slashed US film prices by 13 per cent.