Spartan Motors Q3 profit in line wit

For the third quarter, the company reported net income of $749,000, or 2 cents a share, compared with $14.7 million, or 45 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding items, it earned 4 cents.

Revenue for the quarter fell to $89.7 million from $237.5 million, mainly hurt by the completion of a defense vehicle contract in 2008, the company said.

Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn 4 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $91.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"We are also starting to see an increase in order volume, with orders up 28 percent compared to the 2009 second quarter, which may be an early indication that demand is heading in the right direction," Chief Executive John Sztykiel said in a statement.

Shares of the Charlotte, Michigan-based company were down 6 percent at $5.62 in pre-market trading, compared with Wednesday's close of $6.00 on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Fareha Khan in Bangalore; Editing by Mike Miller)