MINNEAPOLIS -- The turnaround at CyberOptics continued in the fourth quarter as the AOI OEM reported net sales rose 5% sequentially and 34% year-over-year.

For the period ended Dec. 31, the net loss was $1.62 million, including a non-cash income tax charge of $573,000, on net sales of $8.98 million. The company reported a net loss of $841,000 in the third quarter and $6.1 million in the fourth quarter 2008.

The operating loss was $1.56 million, up from a loss of $1.72 million sequentially and $8.2 million a year ago.

In a statement, chairman and chief executive Kathleen P. Iverson said, “From the standpoint of product development, we believe 2009 was a pivotal year. The return to profitability that we are forecasting is expected to be driven in large part by new products that were recently introduced and that we expect to launch in 2010. These developments reflect our strategy to expand revenue opportunities with our key alignment customers, diversify into new markets outside SMT and expand our addressable market for inspection solutions.

“This strategy is based upon our unique inspection technology that leverages common hardware platforms and sensing capabilities across a variety of applications, both for our own stand-alone systems and new embedded inspection solutions. By embedding our inspection technology directly into production equipment, we are bringing inspection to manufacturers that require a lower-cost solution, as well as those that do not require full inspection functionality, effectively increasing the size of our addressable market. We believe this strategy should lead to accelerated sales and earnings growth going forward.”

CyberOptics guided for first-quarter results near breakeven on sales of $11 million to $12 million.

The company said initial shipments of its just-launched QX500 AOI are expected late in this year’s second quarter, and it recently received a "significant order" from a large Asian ODM for a soon-to-be introduced lower-tier solder paste inspection system that is scheduled for shipment in the second quarter. 

CyberOptics said it gained over 10 new SPI systems customers in the fourth quarter.