Vista Outdoor expects fourth-quarter earnings to exceed expectations after seeing “strong demand” within its commercial ammunition, cycling and outdoor cooking categories, and also said it believes it has the financial flexibility required to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the global economy.
Vista Outdoor also appointed Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, shown above, as its SVP and chief financial officer, replacing Mick Lopez, who was CFO the past two years.
Finally, the company said it believes it has the support and financial flexibility required to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the global economy. The company’s brands include Federal Premium, CamelBak, Bushnell, Camp Chef, Primos, Blackhawk, Bell, and Giro.
Chris Metz, Vista Outdoor chief executive officer, said, “During these unprecedented times, we are focused on protecting the health and safety of our employees and their families. Thousands of Vista Outdoor employees continue to come to work. Many of our operations have been designated as essential by the US government as our customers include our nation’s armed forces, law enforcement and other critical functions. We are following guidelines issued by health and safety authorities and have made numerous modifications to our business practices to ensure safety and mitigate risk to our employees while they fulfill an important mission in support of America’s response to COVID-19.”
CFO Leadership Transition
Vista Outdoor’s appointment of Sudhanshu Priyadarshi as senior vice president and chief financial officer is effective today. Priyadarshi is a global retail finance and operating leader with more than 20 years of experience. He most recently worked as CFO of Flexport and before that, VP of finance for Walmart’s e-commerce business. Priyadarshi began his career at PepsiCo, spending 14 years there in a variety of finance, planning and strategy-related roles, concluding as CFO for PepsiCo’s Global R&D and Global Nutritional Platforms. Priyadarshi assumes the role from Mick Lopez, who will be leaving the company after a transition period.
Metz continued, “We are excited to welcome Sudhanshu to the Vista Outdoor leadership team. We believe that Sudhanshu’s demonstrated track record of success in e-commerce, deep strategic and financial expertise, and extensive experience in consumer products and retail will be a tremendous asset as we move to the next phase of our transformation and sharpen our focus on e-commerce and organic growth. I look forward to working closely with Sudhanshu as we navigate these turbulent and dynamic times while keeping focus on Vista Outdoor’s mission and ambitious objectives.”
Priyadarshi added, “I am honored to join Vista Outdoor as its new chief financial officer and look forward to partnering with Chris and the leadership team as we enter our next phase of growth.”
“Mick Lopez, who has served as chief financial officer during the past two years, has played a critical role in partnering with me in our company’s transformation,” said Metz. “He has been instrumental in helping us successfully drive cost out of our business, right-size our operating model, execute strategic portfolio divestitures and reduce our financial leverage. Mick also led our transition to a flexible, low-cost and scalable capital structure that will support our future growth and help us navigate the economic disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. He has built a strong financial team, which will enable a smooth transition. We thank Mick for his leadership and his strong contribution to Vista Outdoor and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Business Update
“During the fourth quarter, we saw strong demand within our commercial ammunition, cycling and outdoor cooking categories and achieved record year-over-year growth across many of our brands through our direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel,” said Metz. “We had a strong fourth quarter and are able to affirm we expect to be within our guidance range for Sales and to exceed our guidance for Free Cash Flow. We anticipate a non-cash impairment charge for goodwill and trade names in our fourth quarter, which will negatively impact our GAAP EPS. At the same time, we expect to exceed our adjusted EPS guidance. We have continued to aggressively pay down our outstanding debt balance and manage our working capital needs, and we expect to enter our fiscal year 2021 with more than $150 million in available liquidity under our asset-based revolving credit facility. In total, we have enacted plans that we believe will provide us with the financial flexibility to navigate the turbulent quarters ahead while continuing to provide consumers with innovative products that will help them enjoy their favorite outdoor pursuits during these difficult times.”
Vista Outdoor will report fiscal fourth-quarter results on May 7.
Photo courtesy Vista Outdoor
