Sturm, Ruger & Company Inc. reported earnings in the third quarter nearly doubled to $12.0 million, or 62 cents a share, from $6.8 million, or 34 cents, a year ago. Revenues rose to $120.9 million from $98.3 million a year earlier.

For the nine months ended September 26, 2015, net sales were $398.7 million and fully diluted earnings were $2.33 per share. For the corresponding period in 2014, net sales were $421.9 million and fully diluted earnings were $2.69 per share.

The company also announced  that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of 25¢ per share for the third quarter for stockholders of record as of November 16, 2015, payable on November 30, 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 percent of net income.

Chief Executive Officer Michael O. Fifer made the following observations related to the company’s 2015 third quarter performance:

  • In the third quarter of 2015, net sales increased 23 percent and earnings increased 76 percent from the third quarter of 2014.
  • New products, including the AR-556 modern sporting rifle and the LC9s pistol, represented $81.1 million or 21 percent of firearm sales in the first nine months of 2015. New product sales include only major new products that were introduced in the past two years.
  • In the third quarter of 2015, the estimated sell-through of the company’s products from the independent distributors to retailers increased 28 percent from the third quarter of 2014. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System background checks (as adjusted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation) increased 8 percent during the same period.
  • Inventory of the company’s products at the independent distributors increased by 19,800 units during the third quarter of 2015 and the company’s finished goods inventory increased by 45,200 units during the same period.
  • Cash generated from operations during the nine months ended September 26, 2015 was $94.9 million. At September 26, 2015, our cash totaled $60.3 million. Our current ratio is 2.4 to 1 and we have no debt.
  • In the first nine months of 2015, capital expenditures totaled $24.5 million, much of it related to tooling and equipment for new products. We expect our 2015 capital expenditures to total approximately $30 million.
  • In the first nine months of 2015, the company returned $18.7 million to its shareholders through the payment of $15.9 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.
  • At September 26, 2015, stockholders’ equity was $214.1 million, which equates to a book value of $11.45 per share, of which $3.22 per share is cash.