Fleetwood posts wider quarterly loss

Fleetwood Enterprises Inc., the Riverside-based maker of recreational vehicles and manufactured homes, posted a wider fiscal second-quarter loss Thursday as sluggish demand for housing and trailers hurt results.

Quarterly losses deepened to $20.4 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with $1.9 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Weaker demand for RVs and manufactured houses drove sales down 16% in the quarter, to $526.6 million from $629.5 million a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a loss of 32 cents a share on sales of $526.9 million.

A year ago, demand for Fleetwood’s products surged in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, while this year’s hurricane season was relatively quiet.

Shares of Fleetwood rose 32 cents to $8.26.