Arctic Cat, struggling with too much unsold product, reports a loss

ATV and snowmobile maker Arctic Cat Inc. on Wednesday reported a $1.1 million loss for its fiscal first quarter.

The loss of 8 cents per share was worse than flat earnings that analysts had forecast for the April-to-June period. The result marked a reversal from $3.6 million in profit the company experienced in the same period a year ago.

Revenue of $134.4 million, exceeded the forecast by analysts of $127 million, but was below the year-ago figure of $143.6 million.

The company's shares fell 3.5 percent in early trading.

In a statement, chief executive Christopher Metz said, "We made continued progress in the first quarter against our stated goals to reposition the business for growth and clean up the inventory overhang. In particular, we saw encouraging trends in the company's core North America ATV dealer inventory levels and gained further market share."

He added that the company will continue to "aggressively reduce non-current inventory" in dealerships while also providing solid marketing support. Arctic Cat is developing new products to restore retail and wholesale growth, Metz said. "We remain on track with our stated long-range plan," he said.