Xybernaut posts strong sales growth in 4Q

Xybernaut's fourth-quarter sales nearly quintupled from the year-ago quarter but it still posted a loss of $3.5 million, or 13 cents a share.

Ahead of the earnings report, Xybernaut (Nasdaq: XYBR) shares closed off 3/8 to 20 5/8.

There was no First Call consensus estimate for the maker of wearable computing devices this quarter.

In the quarter, it recorded sales of $1.2 million, up from the year-ago quarter when it posted a loss of $5.8 million, or 29 cents a share, on sales of $258,000.

For the fiscal year, Xybernaut lost $16.7 million, or 70 cents a share, on sales of $3.3 million compared to a loss of $13.1 million, or 74 cents a share, on sales of $875,000 in fiscal 1998.

"We are optimistic about the future given our advanced discussions with several world-class corporations for our current and next generations of products," said CEO Edward Newman in a prepared release.

Xybernaut shares scampered up to a 52-week high of 29 15/16 in February after falling to a low of 31/32 in September.