RV Maker Fleetwood Narrows Loss Despite Slide in Revenue

Recreational vehicle and mobile home maker Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter loss narrowed significantly on a gain and lower expenses.

The Riverside company reported a loss of $411,000, or 1 cent a share, compared with $29.6 million, or 53 cents, a year earlier. Fleetwood said it swung to a profit from continuing operations of $700,000, or 1 cent a share, from a loss of $17.4 million, or 31 cents, a year earlier.

Results for the quarter included a pretax gain of $18.5 million and a related deferred tax charge of $3.6 million from the buyback of 1 million shares of Fleetwood’s 6% convertible trust preferred securities in July.

Revenue fell 14% to $529.8 million in a challenging recreational vehicle market and a flat mobile home sector.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 12 cents a share on revenue of $557.7 million.

Operating expenses fell by 19% to $81.5 million from $101 million from a year earlier.

Shares of Fleetwood fell 29 cents to $6.78.