arctic cat snowmobile sales up

Thief River Falls, Minn. - The long and snowy winter this last year along with the timing of snowmobile dealer shipments and PG&A deliveries (Parts, Garments and Accessories) helped Cat's sled business in the first quarter of 2009.

Cat's snowmobile division saw an 80% increase in sales from the same quarter of last year.

Sales last year for the first quarter were $11.9 million, and this year's first quarter sales hit $21.4 million. Chairman and CEO Chris Twomey said, "We are encouraged to see the generally high level of enthusiasm for our snowmobile business from dealers and customers." Twomey also added that "Consolidating the number of chassis platforms is a result of our lean initiative to reduce design and manufacturing costs and improve margins, while offering customers exciting, new, best-in-class products."

Despite the rosy atmosphere surrounding the snowmobile market, Cat's ATV division saw a 10% decline in sales for the quarter compared to last year. However, overall sales still increased for the first quarter on the back of the well-performing snowmobile line. Cat hopes that its high-performance ATVs and UTVs with industry leading power and accessories will help turn that side of its business around soon.