=CPI Card Group (PMTS) reported earnings on Wed 1 March 17 (a/h)

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) _ CPI Card Group Inc. (PMTS) on Wednesday reported a loss of $4 million in its fourth quarter.

On a per-share basis, the Littleton, Colorado-based company said it had a loss of 7 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to less than 1 cent on a per-share basis.

The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 3 cents per share.

The payment cards company posted revenue of $67.4 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $61.2 million.

For the year, the company reported net income of $5.4 million, or 10 cents per share, swinging to a profit in the period. Revenue was reported as $308.7 million.

CPI Card expects full-year earnings in the range of 35 cents to 46 cents per share, with revenue in the range of $315 million to $340 million.

In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, the company's shares hit $4.40. A year ago, they were trading at $7.89.