LoJack, Westwood, Mass., reported that revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, declined 26 percent to $35.6 million, from $48.2 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net loss for the fourth quarter was $2.3 million compared to net income of $0.2 million or for the fourth quarter of 2008.

In announcing the results, Ronald  Waters, president and CEO, said, "Both our North American and international segments continued to stabilize during the quarter, as U.S. new car sales improved and our international licensees began to return to historical purchasing trends. Our performance in the fourth quarter benefited from our continued tight management of operating expenses. We delivered $5.8 million in positive operating cash flow for the quarter and ended the year with a cash balance of $36.5 million. During the quarter, our North American business was impacted by tight credit and high unemployment. However, we do anticipate a moderate recovery in 2010 with gradual improvement throughout the year, based on industry estimates of U.S. new vehicle sales of between 11 million and 11.5 for the year.

"Our international business delivered a sequential increase in unit volume and revenue over the third quarter based on strengthening orders from our licensees. Most have worked through existing inventory purchased in 2008 and now are ordering based on increasing demand and expectations for the coming year," Waters said.

Within LoJack’s North American segment, revenue in the fourth quarter for the U.S. declined 11 percent to $18.6 million, from $21.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, on a 19 percent reduction in unit volume. In addition, revenue in the fourth quarter for Boomerang Tracking declined 12 percent to $3.3 million from the same period a year ago. International revenue in the fourth quarter declined 42 percent to $12.9 million, from $22.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.