Fleetwood Set to Report Loss

Fleetwood Enterprises Inc., the largest maker of recreational vehicles, said it will report its eighth straight quarterly loss next month because of a slowdown in its manufactured-housing business.

Fleetwood didn’t specify the size of the loss for its fiscal fourth quarter ended April 28. It had a loss of $44.5 million, or $1.36 a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 8% to $591 million from $547 million, based on preliminary results, Fleetwood said.

Recreational vehicle sales rose 28% while manufactured housing sales fell 15% in the quarter, the Riverside-based company said.

“The sales improvement in the last half of the year in our RV group was gratifying,” said David Engelman, Fleetwood’s interim chief operating officer. “Manufactured housing, however, continues to face a difficult environment, which we expect to continue at least through calendar 2002.”

Its shares rose 52 cents to $11.12 on the New York Stock Exchange after the news was announced.