In another sign of distress in leisure sector, Eden Prairie-based Winnebago posts quarterly loss

In another sign of the sluggishness of the leisure sector, Winnebago Industries on Friday reported a loss for its latest quarter.

Sales for the Eden Prairie-based maker of motor homes, towable RVs and boats dropped 18% from the same quarter a year ago — more than analysts had predicted.

“As expected, the RV and marine operating environment remained challenging in the first quarter, marked by subdued consumer demand and a cautious dealer network reluctant to make significant commitments on new orders ahead of the historically slow winter season,” said Michael Happe, chief executive of Winnebago, in a news release.

Winnebago officials expect sales challenges throughout the winter but predict sales will pick up in the spring, giving the company better results for the second half of its fiscal year.

“From an industry perspective, encouraging retail trends in October and increasing consumer confidence, combined with ongoing inventory management efforts at the dealer level, are positive indicators of strengthening demand and a more balanced market environment,” Happe said.

This has not been a good week for the leisure sector in Minnesota. Arctic Cat owner Textron said Thursday it would close Minnesota plants indefinitely and search for strategic alternatives, including a potential sale, for its powersports division. Polaris refinanced debt this week after officials talked about how challenging the market is in the company’s last earnings call.

After the summer months, both Winnebago and Polaris promised they would take steps to better manage inventory to improve margins.

Winnebago competitor Thor Industries also missed analyst expectations when it reported results in early December. Quarterly sales for the Indiana-based RV maker dropped 14% and earnings turned negative.

Officials at Thor were also anticipating a pickup in the spring. They also were excited about the October sales bump Happe noted. According to the Recreational Vehicles Industry Association, RV shipments grew 7.8% in October.

A bright spot in a dull quarter was Winnebago’s marine division, which managed to increase its sales 3.5%, as well as its operating margins over the previous quarter and from a year ago, as the Barletta pontoon boats and Chris-Craft powerboats brands gained market share.

Winnebago’s first quarter loss was $5.2 million, or 18 cents a share, on sales of $625.6 million. Adjusted earnings per share were a negative 3 cents a share compared with a profit of 95 cents in the first quarter of last year. Analysts expected 20 cents a share in adjusted earnings on sales of $672 million.

The company’s stock lost nearly 4% of its value on Friday as the overall markets rose modestly, about 1%.