Sales fell to $86.8 million in the fourth quarter ending May 31, but according to , analysts had estimated just over $80 million. The loss amounted to 40 cents a share, quite a bit less than the 66 cents expected by analysts, Bloomberg reported.

Just days after the end of the quarter, Palm released the Palm Pre smartphone, with its innovative webOS, betting the company’s future on the new platform.

The net loss for the quarter was $105 million, or 78 cents per share, much higher than the $43.4 million lost in the same period last year. Both figures are for “net loss applicable to common shareholders.”

The fiscal year results were pretty dismal as well. For 2009, revenues were $736 million, compared to just over $1.3 billion a year earlier. The 2009 revenue figure reflected shipments of over 2.4 million smartphones, a drop of 25% year to year.

The loss for the year was $753 million, a big increase compared to $111 million loss in 2008.