The firm faced $4.3m of restructuring and other charges in the fourth quarter, during which CEO Kimberly Till was replaced by Al Angrisani, who returned to the company having served as its president between 2002 and 2004.

The company, which has reported an annual loss for the past four consecutive years and whose sales have been falling since 2008, saw a slower revenue decline than in recent years, to $165.3m from $168.4m.

Harris’s shares hit a two-year low this week, closing yesterday at $0.52. It has been out of compliance with Nasdaq’s listing rules since its share price dipped below $1 in June, and has been given a deadline of 12 December to get back above $1 for 10 consecutive days, or risk being delisted.

Although the firm reduced its debt by nearly one third during the year to $10.8m, it has had to draw up a new credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase because its leverage and interest coverage ratios rose too high.

Angrisani called the results “disappointing” and said they were “the product of a previous turnaround effort that was not successful”.

“We are now focused on remedying the major challenges that face [Harris Interactive] as we attempt to restore the company’s business model back to viability and begin the process of creating shareholder value,” he said.

Unfortunately, he added, “this is not going to be a quick or easy fix”.