JAKKS Pacific Inc. late Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter net loss because of restructuring charges, and announced that one of its founders and co-chief executives would step down next month.

Jack Friedman said he would step down April 1 as co-CEO of the Malibu toymaker but will remain board chairman. His longtime partner, Stephen Berman, will become sole CEO and continue as president.

“We have been executing on our restructuring plan to increase future profitability, including consolidating office spaces, reducing spending and reorganizing our divisions and teams following meaningful headcount reductions, while simultaneously working on 2010 and development for 2011 and beyond,” Berman said in a press release.

The company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.9 million (-7 cents per share), compared with net income of $16.9 million (55 cents) a year earlier. Net sales fell 26 percent to less than $199 million.

Excluding one-time charges, the company had net income of $6.4 million (22 cents), down 62 percent from a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected adjusted per-share earnings of 18 cents on revenue of more than $203 million.

For the fiscal year 2010, the company expects earnings per share in the range of $1.10 to $1.20 on net sales of approximately $660 million to $670 million. The analyst average was $1.37 per share on revenue of $798 million.

Jakks, founded in 1995, makes and markets all manner of toys, including action figures, art activity kits, performance kites, water toys, electronics and dolls.

Shares were down 58 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $11.92 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.