Kodak posts bigger loss, but sees mid-2013 bankruptcy exit

The Kodak logo is seen outside the Kodak factory in Rochester, New York, January 1, 2013.

(Reuters) - Eastman Kodak Co fourth-quarter loss more than tripled, but the camera pioneer said on Monday that it is on track to emerge from bankruptcy in the middle of 2013 as it shifts its business focus toward printing from photography.

Kodak's quarterly net loss widened to $402 million from $117 million, as net sales fell 24 percent to $1.12 billion, according to regulatory filings.

For all of 2012, Kodak's loss increased 80 percent to $1.38 billion, although the loss was $308 million excluding reorganization and restructuring costs.

Full-year net sales dropped 20 percent to $4.11 billion, reflecting what Kodak called economic weakness in some regions and businesses, currency fluctuations, and the decision to exit some businesses.

Kodak said it ended the year with $1.14 billion of cash.

Chief Executive Antonio Perez has been focusing Kodak on its commercial imaging business, where the full-year operating loss fell by one-third to $300 million, and shuttered its digital camera business.

On March 1, Kodak said it expected to file a Chapter 11 reorganization plan in April.

The Rochester, New York-based company filed for bankruptcy protection on January 19, 2012 amid high pension costs, and a failure to keep up as consumers and rivals shifted to digital photography from film photography.

Kodak shares closed Monday up 3/10th of a cent at 20.2 cents on the Pink Sheets.

The case is In re: Eastman Kodak Co, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-10202.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Carol Bishopric)