Caliper Life Sciences Inc. (NSDQ:CALP) made progress on the path to profitability during the fourth quarter, posting net income for the first time during 2009 and beating its previous revenue guidance by $1 million.

The Hopkinton, Mass.-based lab equipment and services provider posted revenues of $37.7 million during the three months ended Dec. 31, 2009, up 2.6 percent compared with $36.7 million during the same period in 2008. That’s about $1 million more than predicted; in January, the company said it expected to post $36.7 million in sale for the quarter.

Net income for the quarter was $5.9 million, or 11 cents per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $46.3 million, or 95 cents per share, during Q4 2008.

Caliper credited the black ink to a positive comparison with the year-ago quarter, during which it logged roughly $48.8 million worth of one-time impairment and restructuring charges.

Full-year revenues were $130.4 million, down 2.7 percent compared with $134.1 million during 2008, but despite the slip the company still managed to drastically narrow its net losses by 88 percent. Net losses during 2009 were $8.2 million, compared with $68.3 million during the prior year.

President and CEO Kevin Hrusovsky cited a more than 20 percent hike in sales of the company’s LabChip and IVIS equipment in prepared remarks, saying those revenues come mostly from patent-protected products that deliver some of Caliper‘s most profitable revenues.

The company also cited a $9.7 million boost from the sale of its Xenogen Biosciences Corp. subsidiary to Taconic Farms Inc. and the licensing of its microfluidics patent portfolio to Becton, Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BD).

Looking ahead, Caliper said it expects organic revenue growth of between 3 percent and 6 percent.