Arctic Cat Inc. said on Friday lowered its third quarter sales outlook, anticipating that retail sales of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) will continue.

Third quarter net sales are now estimated at $160 million compared to a record $228.1 million in sales during the same period a year ago. The company had previously predicted sales between $170 million to $180 million.

Arctic Cat expects a third-quarter net loss of $0.55 to $0.60 per diluted share.

After reporting seven consecutive years of record sales, we are disappointed with these results and the sluggish ATV environment, said Christopher A. Twomey, Arctic Cat's chairman and chief executive officer.

Arctic Cat now anticipates sales for the full year ending March 31, 2008, to be in the range of $645 million to $665 million, compared with record net sales in fiscal 2007 of $782.4 million.

With the current overall industry environment, Arctic Cat is taking steps to produce fewer of its main products, ATV unit, by cutting its annual ATV production by approximately 10 percent during the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2008.

The company expects to report its actual fiscal 2008 third-quarter results on January 23, 2008.

Retail sales Manufacturing