Sales of portable generators in response to Hurricane Sandy were not enough to lift Briggs & Stratton Corp. to a fiscal second-quarter profit, the Wauwatosa company announced Thursday.

Including restructuring charges, the maker of small engines, lawn-and-garden equipment and portable generators reported a loss of $635,000, or 2 cents a share, compared with net income of $2.7 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier.

Briggs said its sales in the recent quarter that ended Dec. 30 were $439.1 million, down 2% from the same period a year ago.

"Sales of portable and standby generators in response to Hurricane Sandy were offset by lower sales of snow throwers and engines for snow throwers in the U.S., and a significantly weaker market for lawn mowers in Australia, our third-largest market," Todd Teske, Briggs chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

In the recent quarter, Briggs had $6.6 million in restructuring costs, including $1.9 million for changes to its defined-benefit pension plan and charges related to the closing of plants in Tennessee and the Czech Republic.

Excluding restructuring charges, Briggs said it earned $3.7 million in the quarter, $1 million more than a year ago.