Luna Innovations once again reported a net loss for the second quarter, but officials said Tuesday that increased revenues mean the Roanoke-based company is not losing as much as last year.

The technology company reported a net loss of $1.8 million, or 16 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $2.2 million, or 21 cents a share, a year earlier.

That represents about a 17 percent improvement.

The improvement comes as the company saw a 26 percent jump in revenue to nearly $9.9 million in the second quarter ended June 30.

In a conference call with analysts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kent Murphy said he was pleased with the improvements and highlighted the new developments.

"We have made strides across all of our business areas," Murphy said in prepared remarks. "Products and license growth was largely driven by an expanding market acceptance of the Luna Technologies' brand of fiber-optic test and measurements products."

A high-tech company that develops and manufactures products for health care, telecommunications, energy and defense markets, Murphy said Luna is continuing to follow its growth plan since becoming a publicly traded company two years ago.

A stronger penetration of the market has bolstered the revenues, Murphy said. In particular, he said he was pleased with strong growth in the product and licensing side of the business, where the company reported a 46 percent increase from the same quarter a year ago.

The company also saw growth in first-time customers as it reached into the Asian-Pacific marketplace.

"We are on the road to profitability," Murphy said.

However the company still expects to report a net loss in the range of $6.5 million to $7 million for the year, said Dale Messick, chief financial officer.

Revenues for the year are expected to continue to grow and be in the range of $40 million to $42 million.

Shares of Luna, which announced its financial results after the market closed, rose 39 cents to $5.50 in Tuesday trading.