Yahoo Inc posted fourth-quarter results that were broadly in line with Wall Street expectations, and forecast first-quarter revenue to be flat to slightly higher from a year ago.

Shares of Yahoo edged higher in after-hours trade after closing up 0.8 percent at $15.99 on Nasdaq.

The Sunnyvale, California-based Internet company posted net income of $153 million in the fourth quarter, or 11 cents a share, matching analysts' average per-share forecast.

In the year-ago period, Yahoo had a net loss of $303 million, or 22 cents per share, after more than $500 million of write-downs and restructuring charges.

Yahoo said revenue in the three months ended December 31 totaled $1.73 billion, compared with $1.81 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Excluding traffic acquisition costs, Yahoo said revenue was $1.26 billion, a hair above the average analyst expectation of $1.23 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Looking ahead, Yahoo said revenue in the first quarter would range from $1.575 billion to $1.675 billion. The midpoint of the range would represent the first year-on-year revenue increase in six quarters.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Richard Chang)

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