UPDATE 1-Build-A-Bear posts Q1 loss, shares fall

* Q1 loss 4 cents/shr

* Still sees pretax cost savings of $15 mln in '09

* Sees FY09 capex of $9 mln vs $23 mln yr-ago

* Shares down 18 pct

April 30 (Reuters) - Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc (BBW.N) posted a first-quarter loss, hurt by slowing mall traffic and weak consumer spending, sending the stuffed-toys retailer's shares down as much as 18 percent.

The retailer, which lets customers make their own stuffed animals, reported a net loss of $0.8 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with net income of $6.4 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier.

The latest-quarter results included a charge of 2 cents a share related to the closure of its friends 2B made retail concept.

Net sales fell 21 percent to $96.3 million in the quarter, while consolidated comparable-store sales declined about 18 percent during the same period.

"First quarter 2009 was negatively affected when compared to the 2008 first quarter due to the shift in the Easter holiday and associated school vacations, an important selling time for the company," Build-A-Bear said in a statement.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 14 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $113.0 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company also said it expects to incur additional pretax charges related to the friends 2B made concept of about $1.4 million to $1.8 million through the third quarter of fiscal 2009.

Shares of the St. Louis-based company fell $1.06 to $5.82 in Thursday morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Amitha Rajan in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)