The company ended the first quarter with a cash balance of $262 million, an increase of $7 million from December 31, 2023. Foreign exchange had an unfavorable impact on cash of $3 million for the current quarter. The team continues to focus on improving profitability and performance in working capital, which enhances the company’s ability to generate cash. Cash provided by operating activities was $17 million for the current quarter compared to $14 million in the prior year quarter, reflecting an improvement of $3 million. Current quarter cash provided by operating activities was primarily driven by a use of cash from net earnings of $11 million and cash provided by balance sheet changes of $28 million, including a change in working capital of $45 million and a decrease in other liabilities of $19 million.
Within working capital, accounts payable increased by $7 million. Inventory increased by $15 million and accounts receivable decreased by $53 million compared to the prior year period, primarily due to $40 million of cash proceeds from brand licensing. Cash provided by investing activities for the first quarter increased by $12 million compared to the prior year period due to proceeds from the sale of assets of $17 million, partially offset by an increase in capital additions of $5 million Cash used in financing activities for the first quarter increased by $17 million compared to the prior year period, driven by $17 million of an amended and restated term loan prepayment during the first quarter of 2024 from the proceeds received from the sale of assets within investing activities.
Restricted cash decreased by $4 million when compared to the balance as of December 31, 2023. As a reminder, restricted cash primarily represents cash collateral supporting the company’s undiscounted actuarial workers’ compensation obligations with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, cash collateral required under the letter of credit facility and certain aluminum supply contracts in addition to escrows to secure various ongoing obligations. As presented on the bottom portion of the slide, excluding the effects of foreign exchange and the prior year impact of a refund from a non-US governmental authority, the company delivered an $11 million improvement in cash in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the prior year period. We are pleased with the financial performance of the company for the first quarter of 2024.
We will continue to focus on maintaining the strength of the foundation we have worked hard to create, which provides us the opportunity to fund our ongoing operations and invest in growth opportunities to continue to execute our strategy. Finally, we remain in compliance with all applicable financial covenants. I will now turn the discussion back to Jim.
Jim Continenza: Thank you, Dave. In summary, Kodak continued to deliver strong profit and improved cash performance despite a challenging business environment. We continue to invest in our unmatched portfolio of solutions for both offset and digital print. We will showcase a wide range of new products at drupa this month, and I’m excited for the world to see what we’ve been working on. We are investing in the next generation of business in AMC that will set the stage for Kodak as a growth company. Our success is due in large part to the competitive spirit of our employees and their winning attitudes as I stated before. We will continue to put our customers first, offering them a complete range of solutions, a reliable supply and ongoing innovation in both offset and digital print and Advanced Materials & Chemicals. I want to thank everyone for attending this call and your continued interest in Eastman Kodak. Thank you, and have a good evening.
Operator: This concludes today’s conference call. You may now disconnect.
End of Q&A:
