cat profit falls
Amsnow
Minnesota-based snowmobile pioneer and all-terrain vehicle manufacturer, Arctic Cat reports that its net profit for the first quarter fell as a result of substantially lower snowmobile sales.
Based in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, Cat's net profit for the first quarter ended June 30 was $102,000, or zero cents per share, compared with a profit of $2 million, or 8 cents a share, last year. Cat also reported revenue fell to $77.2 million from $78.3 million.
"Arctic Cat is becoming an ATV company that also produces snowmobiles," said Arctic Cat's CEO Christopher Twomey. "In fiscal 2004, we expect to produce more ATVs than snowmobiles and, significantly, ATV unit revenues will exceed that of snowmobiles for the first time in our company's history. We're proud to offer the most extensive and complete ATV line currently available."
Whille sales of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) surged 53 percent, growing to $31.5 million from $20.6 million in the prior-year period, sales of snowmobiles fell to $34.8 million from $47.0 million.
"Our financial results were in line with our earlier guidance, anticipating lower sales and earnings due to fewer snowmobiles in our first-quarter sales mix," said Christopher A. Twomey, president and chief executive officer. "For the year, we remain on track to achieve net sales growth of 2 to 4 percent, driven by increased ATV sales."
The company unveiled its new model line-up to dealers in June, introducing eight new models, four new engines, 14 major technology enhancements and more unique packages for the award-winning MultiRack Platform(TM) (MRP) ATV, which was named "2003 Product Innovation of the Year." This expands Arctic Cat's offerings to more than 25 ATV models in its 2004 line-up.
New ATVs introduced in June include Arctic Cat's most powerful ATV yet, with a 650cc V-Twin engine. The company also entered the sport performance ATV segment with a 400cc DVX model featuring removable fenders. The 400 class ATV is the largest segment of the sports performance category, making this an important market entry. The company also launched two new youth models.
For all of 2004, Arctic Cat forecast sales growing 2 percent to 4 percent to $590 million and $602 million. Due to the seasonal nature of Arctic Cat's snowmobile and ATV products, the company sells the majority of its products during its second and third fiscal quarters.