Shares of RealD Inc. gained in afterhours trading Thursday after the 3D movie technology provider reported a smaller-than-expected net loss in its fiscal fourth quarter.

After the markets closed, the Beverly Hills licensing company reported a net loss of $4.3 million (-9 cents a share) in the quarter ended March 31, compared with net income of $5.5 million (10 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell 9 percent to less than $45.5 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected RealD to report a loss of 19 cents a share on revenue of $42.9 million.

Wall Street had been pessimistic because of slower box office sales for 3D films, and the fact that were seven 3-D movies released domestically in the quarter, one fewer than a year earlier.

Shares earlier closed up 51 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $14.96 on the New York Stock Exchange and went up another 5.5 percent in afterhours trading.