Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Results

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select: SWBI), a U.S.-based leader in firearm manufacturing and design, today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2022, ended October 31, 2021.  Unless otherwise indicated, any reference to income statement items refers to results from continuing operations.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Highlights

• Net sales were $230.5 million, a decrease of $18.3 million, or 7.3%, from the comparable quarter last year.
• Gross margin was 44.3%, compared with 40.6% for the comparable quarter last year.
• Quarterly GAAP net income was $50.9 million, or $1.05 per diluted share, compared with $49.1 million, or $0.87 per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year.
• Quarterly non-GAAP net income was $55.3 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, compared with $52.8 million, or $0.93 per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year. GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments for income exclude costs related to the planned relocation of our headquarters and certain manufacturing and distribution operations to Tennessee, the spin-off of the outdoor products and accessories business in fiscal 2021, COVID-19 related expenses, and other costs. For a detailed reconciliation, see the schedules that follow in this release.
• Quarterly non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDAS was $80.4 million, or 34.9% of net sales, compared with $78.9 million, or 31.7% of net sales, for the comparable quarter last year.

Mark Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Throughout the past 18 months of unprecedented demand levels for our industry, our focus has continued to be on the long term – and our team has been hard at work positioning Smith & Wesson for continued impressive operating results and maintaining our market leadership regardless of market conditions. During our second quarter, as demand levels eased from historical highs experienced during the height of the pandemic, the results of those efforts and our flexible model were evident.  Despite a year over year revenue decline, our operations team actually delivered higher gross profit, more than offsetting the decrease in the top line. Our sales, marketing, and new product teams continued our steady cadence of new product introductions, with the most recent being our brand new M&P 10MM introduced last month and we have great confidence going forward to continue being the brand of choice at retail by connecting with both the millions of new firearms owners and our loyal long time enthusiasts in new and innovative ways, continuing to introduce exciting new products, and leveraging our unique ability to adjust rapidly to market dynamics through our flexible manufacturing model."

Smith continued, "Late last quarter, we announced our intention to relocate our headquarters and certain of our operations to Maryville, Tennessee in 2023 and work on this project has begun in earnest. With a successful groundbreaking ceremony held on November 5th, we are excited about the opportunity to shape our company for generations to come. The new state-of-the-art facility will serve as our headquarters and will be the new home for our plastic injection molding, assembly, and logistics operations, and will solidify the future of Smith & Wesson – an innovative, nimble organization, whose dedicated employees leverage the latest technology to produce products that set the standard for firearms enthusiasts around the globe. We would like to thank the state of Tennessee and the Blount County community for such a warm welcome, and we look forward to calling Maryville, Tennessee home."

Deana McPherson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "Our second quarter results continue to demonstrate our ability to react to the changing needs of the market.  We delivered a 370 basis point increase in gross margin that more than offset a 7.3% decrease in revenue compared with the prior year second quarter.  Although below the prior year, the current quarter's revenue represents a two-year compounded growth rate of over 140% and is one of the many examples of how our flexible manufacturing model allows our business to return impressive financial performance in both increasing and decreasing demand environments.  Inventory in the channel has finally been restored in many of our product categories and we continue to replenish our internal inventories. We believe that our strong balance sheet, impressive product array, and commitment to be the market leader will enable us to continue to invest in our business and capture market share, as we fulfill our commitment to return capital to our stockholders.  Our Board of Directors has again authorized our $0.08 per share quarterly dividend, which will be paid to stockholders of record on December 16th with payment to be made on January 3rd."

Conference Call and Webcast
The company will host a conference call and webcast on December 2, 2021, to discuss its second quarter fiscal 2022 financial and operational results. Speakers on the conference call will include Mark Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Deana McPherson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The conference call may include forward-looking statements. The conference call and webcast will begin at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific Time). Those interested in listening to the conference call via telephone may call directly at (844) 309-6568 and reference conference identification number 9717968.  No RSVP is necessary. The conference call audio webcast can also be accessed live on the company's website at www.smith-wesson.com, under the Investor Relations section.

Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In this press release, certain non-GAAP financial measures, including "non-GAAP net income," "Adjusted EBITDAS," and "free cash flow" are presented. From time-to-time, we consider and use these supplemental measures of operating performance in order to provide the reader with an improved understanding of underlying performance trends.  We believe it is useful for us and the reader to review, as applicable, both (1) GAAP measures that include (i) interest expense, (ii) income tax expense, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) stock-based compensation expense, (v) COVID-19 expenses, (vi) transition costs, (vii) amortization of acquired intangible assets, (viii) spin related stock compensation, (ix) Relocation expense, and (x) the tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments; and (2) the non-GAAP measures that exclude such information. We present these non-GAAP measures because we consider them an important supplemental measure of our performance. Our definition of these adjusted financial measures may differ from similarly named measures used by others. We believe these measures facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by eliminating potential differences caused by the existence and timing of certain expense items that would not otherwise be apparent on a GAAP basis.  These non-GAAP measures have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our GAAP measures.  The principal limitations of these measures are that they do not reflect our actual expenses and may thus have the effect of inflating its financial measures on a GAAP basis.

About Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select: SWBI) is a U.S.-based leader in firearm manufacturing and design, delivering a broad portfolio of quality handgun, long gun, and suppressor products to the global consumer and professional markets under the iconic Smith & Wesson®, M&P®, and Gemtech® brands.  The company also provides manufacturing services including forging, machining, and precision plastic injection molding services.  For more information call (800) 331-0852 or visit www.smith-wesson.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws, and we intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, that (i) we have great confidence going forward to continue being the brand of choice at retail by connecting with both the millions of new firearms owners and our loyal long time enthusiasts in new and innovative ways, continuing to introduce exciting new products, and leveraging our unique ability to adjust rapidly to market dynamics through our flexible manufacturing model; (ii) we intend to relocate our headquarters and certain of our operations to Maryville, Tennessee in 2023; (iii) the new state-of-the-art facility will serve as our headquarters and will be the new home for our plastic injection molding, assembly, and logistics operations, and will solidify the future of Smith & Wesson – an innovative, nimble organization, whose dedicated employees leverage the latest technology to produce products that set the standard for firearms enthusiasts around the globe; and (iv) we believe that our strong balance sheet, impressive product array, and commitment to be the market leader will enable us to continue to invest in our business and capture market share, as we fulfill our commitment to return capital to our stockholders. We caution that these statements are qualified by important risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, economic, social, political, legislative, and regulatory factors; the potential for increased regulation of firearms and firearm-related products; actions of social activists that could have an adverse effect on our business; the impact of lawsuits; the demand for our products; the state of the U.S. economy in general and the firearm industry in particular; general economic conditions and consumer spending patterns; our competitive environment; the supply, availability, and costs of raw materials and components; our anticipated growth and growth opportunities; our strategies; our ability to maintain and enhance brand recognition and reputation; our ability to effectively manage and execute the planned relocation of our headquarters and certain of our operations to Tennessee; our ability to introduce new products; the success of new products; the potential for cancellation of orders from our backlog; and other risks detailed from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2021. 

Contact:
[email protected]
(413) 747-3448

SOURCE Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.