Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc reported a smaller quarterly loss as sales at Arby's established restaurants improved, but the restaurant chain lowered its 2011 profit forecast citing rising commodity costs.

The No. 3 U.S. fast-food restaurant operator, which in January said it planned to sell its struggling Arby's restaurants, reported a first-quarter net loss of $1.4 million, or nil cents per share, from $3.4 million, or 1 penny a share, a year earlier.

Sales at Arby's established restaurants rose 5.5 percent, helped by its inexpensive menu, helping overall revenue rise 1.2 percent to $847.8 million in the three-month period that ended on April 3. That beat Wall Street expectation of revenue of $845.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein and Phil Wahba; Editing by Derek Caney)