NATICK, MA -- Cognex set new records for revenue and net income in 2013, buoyed by a 16% uptick in sales in its fourth quarter. December period sales reached $95.7 million, while net income was up 26% to $20.4 million.

For the year, sales were up 9% to $353.9 million, and profits rose 8% to $73.6 million.

Robert J. Willett, chief executive, said, "Our product development and sales initiatives drove higher revenue from the factory automation market, where we set a new record for annual revenue. Our efforts really began to deliver in the second half of the year, when factory automation revenue growth was in excess of our 20% long-term target, and we reported higher operating margins than in the first half.”

Cognex guided for first-quarter revenue of $88 million to $91 million, down 5% to 8% sequentially on typical seasonality.