Arctic Cat Inc. recently reported that net earnings for the  fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, increased to $13.0 million up from prior-year net earnings of $1.9 million. Arctic Cat’s net sales for the fiscal 2011 full year grew to $464.7 million versus $450.7 million last fiscal year.

“We are pleased with the continued improvement in Arctic  Cat’s full-year profitability and revenue," said Claude Jordan, Arctic Cat’s president and chief executive officer. "Contributing to our fiscal  2011 results were increased sales of snowmobiles and snow-related parts, garments and accessories. Our ongoing emphasis on controlling our cost structure led to higher gross margins and operating profits in fiscal  2011, while additional inventory reductions further strengthened the  company’s balance sheet.”

For the 2011 fourth quarter, the company reported a net loss of $9.6 million on net sales of  $73.5 million. Arctic Cat reported a net loss in the prior-year fourth quarter of $9.6 million on net sales of  $84.0 million. Due to the seasonality of Arctic Cat’s business, the  company typically reports lower results in its fiscal first and fourth quarters, and its fiscal second and third quarters are historically its  strongest.

Arctic Cat’s fourth-quarter snowmobile sales were a negative $4.5  million, primarily due to sales incentives, versus sales of $597,000 in the prior-year quarter. Full-year snowmobile sales grew 12 percent to $182 million compared to $162.9 million last year, due to strong U.S. and international snowmobile sales.

“We were pleased to see snowmobile sales rebound from their recessionary levels a year ago,” said Jordan. “In March, we unveiled 23 exciting, all-new snowmobiles, representing 75 percent of  our 2012 model year lineup, which we believe will have a positive  impact on fiscal 2012 snowmobile sales. We remain firmly focused on  being a technology innovation leader. Our latest first-to-market technologies will further enhance sled performance and rider comfort.”

Arctic Cat’s ATV sales totaled $48 million in the fourth quarter versus $55.8 million in the prior-year quarter, as the business continued to focus on lowering dealer inventory. Full-year ATV sales declined 4 percent in fiscal 2011 to $181.1 million compared to $188 million in fiscal 2010.

“Industry-wide ATV retail sales continued to decline in fiscal 2011,  however, we gained traction with three new ATV products that were  introduced in the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter. These included two value-priced models – the full-featured 350 4×4 automatic and the 425  EFI 4×4 automatic – as well as a new crossover XC450i ATV. These new  products, combined with our existing strong lineup, allowed us to take market share in fiscal 2011,” said Jordan. “We also are excited to soon enter the growing sport side-by-side segment with our new Wildcat sport side-by-side model. Although we haven’t yet disclosed specific details on this product, we recently previewed the Wildcat at our snow dealer  show and plan to begin shipping this off-road vehicle to dealers during  fiscal 2012.”

Sales of parts, garments and accessories (PG&A) in the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter rose 9 percent to $29.9 million versus $27.6 million in  the prior-year quarter. The growth in PG&A was due primarily to a strong  snow season in North America that resulted in higher sales of  snow-related parts, garments and accessories. For fiscal 2011, PG&A  sales totaled $101.6 million compared to $99.9 million in the prior year.

For more information about Arctic Cat, visit www.arcticcat.com.