X-Rite reports 4th-quarter profit, reversing year-ago loss

X-Rite posts small 4Q profit, reversing loss

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Color measurement technology company X-Rite Inc. posted a fourth-quarter profit Tuesday, reversing a year-ago loss tied to the company’s 2007 acquisition of Pantone.

For the three months ended Jan. 2, the company earned $100,000, up from a loss of $64.7 million a year earlier. Last year, the company recorded a charge of $58.1 million after buying Pantone, a company best known for its color matching charts.

The company did not give earnings per share figures but said it would disclose them in its 10K annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Revenue fell 18 percent to $50.1 million from $60.8 million.

For the full year, X-Rite lost $25.2 million, compared with a loss of $117.8 million in the previous year.

Revenue fell 27 percent to $191.7 million from $261.5 million.

X-Rite’s products are used by manufacturers, designers and retailers to measure and select colors for their products and to make sure the colors stay consistent when they need to be.

Shares rose 1 cent to $3.01 in midday trading.