Arctic Cats sales, earnings increase

Arctic Cat Inc. (Nasdaq:ACAT), Thief River Falls, Minn., manufacturer of ATVs and snowmobiles, says fourth-quarter net sales for the period ended March 31, 2004, increased 26% to $140.2 million, up from $111.4 million in the same period last year. The company’s net loss improved to $1.0 million, or five cents per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.7 million, or eight cents per diluted share, in the prior-year fourth quarter.
Arctic Cat repurchased 150,000 shares of its common stock during the 2004 fourth quarter. The company has approximately 400,000 additional shares remaining under its current repurchase authorization.
Full-year net sales were a record $649.6 million, up 13% versus $577.1 million last fiscal year. Net earnings totaled $30.4 million, or $1.40 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $32.7 million, or $1.45 per diluted share, for fiscal 2003.
Fiscal 2003 results included extraordinary items related to Arctic’s exit from the personal watercraft business in September 1999. Excluding fiscal 2003 non-recurring items, the company’s fiscal 2004 net sales of $649.6 million grew 13% compared to fiscal 2003 net sales of $573.1 million; 2004 net earnings of $30.4 million rose 4% compared to 2003 net earnings of $29.3 million; and 2004 full-year diluted earnings per share of $1.40 increased 8% versus $1.30 per diluted share in the prior year.
The company increased its quarterly cash dividend in fiscal 2004 by 17% to seven cents per share of common and class B common stock
Arctic says sales of ATVs grew 26% in the 2004 fourth quarter to $104.2 million versus $82.7 million in the same period last year. ATV sales for fiscal 2004 were up 25% to $294.4 million.
Snowmobile sales in the 2004 fourth quarter increased to $5.1 million compared to $1.5 million in the prior-year quarter, due to increased unit sales and a richer mix of products sold, the company said. Arctic Cat’s full-year snowmobile sales grew 5% to $258.4 million versus $245.2 million in the prior year.
Sales of parts, garments, and accessories in the 2004 fourth quarter grew to $30.8 million, up 13% from $27.2 million in the year-ago period. For the full fiscal year, sales of parts, garments and accessories increased 5% to $96.8 million, primarily due to increased sales of ATV-related parts and accessories.
Fiscal 2004 marks the first year in Arctic Cat’s history that ATV revenues were greater than snowmobile revenues. psb