DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ArvinMeritor Inc. (ARM) swung to a fiscal first-quarter loss amid restructuring related charges and higher taxes, though its commercial-truck business posted sharply improved sales. For the current quarter, the company expects revenue of $1.13 billion to $1.8 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently expected $1.03 billion. The producer of parts for commercial vehicles has reported improved results in recent quarters, helped by a turnaround in vehicle demand and a restructuring effort that has tied its future to the commercial truck industry. Last week, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded the company a notch, citing recovering demand in North America and Europe. The company's shareholders recently approved plans to change the company's name to Meritor Inc. amid the company's new focus after completing the sale of its body systems segment last month. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, ArvinMeritor reported a loss of $2 million, or 3 cents a share. A year earlier it broke even. Excluding tax impacts, the loss widened to 7 cents compared to 6 cents. Revenue jumped 21% to $971 million. Analysts expected earnings to break even on $964.5 million in revenue. Gross margin fell to 10.7% from 11.1%. At its commercial-truck business--its largest by revenue--sales climbed 33% and profit more than doubled. Shares closed Monday at $21.86 and were inactive premarket. The stock has more than doubled in the past year. -By Tess Stynes and Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240; matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com
