Sears Holdings, the retailer controlled by hedge-fund manager Edward Lampert, posted a fourth-quarter loss that was larger than it had forecast in January, as sales fell for the sixth consecutive year.

The loss narrowed to $489 million from $2.4 billion a year earlier, the Illinois-based company said yesterday in a statement. Sears had predicted a loss of $280 million to $360 million, excluding potential impact from store closings and other items. Revenue fell 1.8 percent to $12.3 billion, topping analysts’ estimates, as domestic same-store Sears sales improved.

Lampert took over as CEO in February as the department-store chain works to snap a streak of quarterly sales declines stretching back to May 2007. His predecessor, Lou D’Ambrosio, worked to cut inventory and debt.

Sears fell 5.2 percent to $45 at the close.