The Company also announced today that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of 32¢ per share for the first quarter for stockholders of record as of May 15, 2015, payable on May 29, 2015. This dividend varies every quarter because the Company pays a percent of earnings rather than a fixed amount per share. This dividend is approximately 40% of net income.
Chief Executive Officer Michael O. Fifer made the following observations related to the Company's 2015 first quarter performance:
- Demand for the Company's firearms in the first quarter of 2015 increased from the fourth quarter of 2014 due to the successful annual sales promotions in effect during the first quarter of 2015, coupled with a reduction in the aggressive price discounting by many of our competitors that was prevalent in the latter half of 2014.
- In the first quarter of 2015, net sales and the estimated sell-through of the Company's products from the independent distributors to retailers increased 12% and 15%, respectively, from the fourth quarter of 2014. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System background checks (as adjusted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation) decreased 15% during the same period.
- Inventory of the Company's products at the independent distributors decreased by 64,700 units during the first quarter of 2015 and the Company's finished goods inventory decreased by 53,100 units during the same period.
- Earnings in the first quarter of 2015 increased 53% from the fourth quarter of 2014, excluding the expense related to the termination and settlement of the defined benefit pension plans in 2014.
- New products, including the AR-556 modern sporting rifle and the LC9s pistol, represented $22.8 million or 17% of firearm sales in the first quarter of 2015. New product sales include only major new products that were introduced in the past two years.
- Cash generated from operations during the first quarter of 2015 was $32.8 million. At March 28, 2015, our cash totaled $30.8 million. Our current ratio is 2.1 to 1 and we have no debt.
- In the first quarter of 2015, capital expenditures totaled $4.3 million. We expect our 2015 capital expenditures to total approximately $30 million.
- In the first quarter of 2015, the Company returned $6.0 million to its shareholders through:
- the payment of $3.2 million of dividends, and
- the repurchase of 82,100 shares of our common stock in the open market at an average price of $34.57 per share, for a total of $2.8 million.
- the payment of $3.2 million of dividends, and
- At March 28, 2015, stockholders' equity was $195.4 million, which equates to a book value of $10.46 per share.
Today, the Company filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. The financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are attached to this press release.
Tomorrow, May 5, 2015, Sturm, Ruger will host a webcast of its Annual Meeting of Stockholders at 9:00 a.m. ET. Interested parties can access the webcast at www.ruger.com/corporate or by dialing 855-871-7398, participant code 32494149.
The Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov and the Ruger website at www.ruger.com/corporate. Investors are urged to read the complete Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to ensure that they have adequate information to make informed investment judgments.
About Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.
Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. is one of the nation's leading manufacturers of rugged, reliable firearms for the commercial sporting market. The only full-line manufacturer of American-made firearms, Ruger offers consumers over 400 variations of more than 30 product lines. For more than 60 years, Ruger has been a model of corporate and community responsibility. Our motto, "Arms Makers for Responsible Citizens®," echoes the importance of these principles as we work hard to deliver quality and innovative firearms.
The Company may, from time to time, make forward-looking statements and projections concerning future expectations. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to certain qualifying risks and uncertainties, such as market demand, sales levels of firearms, anticipated castings sales and earnings, the need for external financing for operations or capital expenditures, the results of pending litigation against the Company, the impact of future firearms control and environmental legislation, and accounting estimates, any one or more of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publish revised forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date such forward-looking statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent unanticipated events.
Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. "Arms Makers for Responsible Citizens"