American Outdoor Brands, Inc. posted a 9.7 percent increase in net sales for the fiscal fourth quarter ended April 30, delivering net sales of $46.3 million, compared with net sales of $42.2 million for the comparable quarter last year. The company said that 26.3 percent year-over-year growth in traditional channel net sales was partially offset by a 9.6 percent decline in e-commerce net sales.

Fourth quarter GAAP gross margin was 41.9 percent of net sales, compared with gross margin of 45.2 percent for the comparable quarter last year. Quarterly non-GAAP gross margin was 44.3 percent of net sales, compared with 45.2 percent for the comparable quarter last year. Gross margin was reportedly impacted by the amortization of tariff and freight costs stemming from higher inventory purchases in the first half of fiscal 2024, higher promotional product discounts, and an immaterial adjustment to a tariff drawback claim submitted in fiscal 2022.

Fourth quarter GAAP net loss was $5.3 million, or a loss of 42 cents per diluted share, in Q4, compared with GAAP net loss of $3.8 million, or a loss of 29 cents per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year. The Q4 non-GAAP net loss was $45,000, or $0.00 per diluted share, compared with non-GAAP net income of $793,000, or EPS of 6 cents per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year.

GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments for net income excludes acquired intangible amortization, stock compensation, technology implementation, and other costs.

Quarterly non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDAS was $1.0 million, or 2.2 percent of net sales, compared with $1.8 million, or 4.3 percent of net sales, for the comparable quarter last year.

Full Year Fiscal 2024 Financial Highlights

  • Full-year net sales increased 5.2 percent to $201.1 million.
    • Strong growth in traditional channel net sales of 12.3 percent was partially offset by a slight decrease in e-commerce channel net sales of 3.3 percent.
  • Full year GAAP gross margin was 44.0 percent of net sales, compared to 46.1 percent for the prior year.
    • Full-year non-GAAP gross margin was 44.5 percent of net sales, compared to 46.2 percent for the prior year.
    • Full-year gross margin was reportedly impacted by the amortization in the second half of fiscal 2024 of tariff and freight costs stemming from higher inventory purchases that occurred in the first half of fiscal 2024, higher promotional product discounts, as well as an immaterial adjustment to a tariff drawback claim submitted in fiscal 2022.
  • Full-year GAAP net loss was $12.2 million, or a loss of 94 cents per diluted share, compared with a GAAP net loss of $12.0 million, or a loss of 90 cents per diluted share, in the prior year.
    • Full-year non-GAAP net income was $4.3 million, or EPS of 32 cents per diluted share, compared with non-GAAP net income of $6.6 million, or EPS of 48 cents per diluted share, for the prior year.
    • GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments for net income excludes acquired intangible amortization, stock compensation, technology implementation, and other costs.
  • Full-year Adjusted EBITDAS was $9.8 million, or 4.9 percent of net sales, compared with Adjusted EBITDAS of $12.8 million, or 6.7 percent of net sales, for the prior year.

“I am very pleased with our performance for fiscal 2024, a year in which we delivered year-over-year net sales growth that exceeded our expectations and achieved several strategic milestones which, we believe, position our company and our brands well for the future,” said Brian Murphy, president and CEO, American Outdoor Brands. “Innovation remains core to our strategy, and in fiscal 2024, innovation helped drive growth by allowing us to forge strong relationships with our consumers and retailers and expand our access to new markets. Our results were especially notable given the environment of consumer uncertainty that characterized fiscal 2024.”

Murphy said net sales growth for the year reflected 6.9 percent growth in the outdoor lifestyle category and 3.2 percent growth in the company’s shooting sports category. Overall growth was said to be supported by new product launches across a number of AOUT brands, including Bubba, Caldwell, Grilla, and Hooyman.

“In fact, new products generated over 23 percent of our net sales in fiscal 2024,” added Murphy. “In addition, throughout the year, we remained focused on ensuring that our brands were increasingly accessible to a broader audience of consumers, both in-store and online. We expanded Meat! Your Maker meat processing equipment into the retail channel in 2024, and positioned Grilla outdoor cooking products for retail entry in fiscal 2025, providing new audiences for these popular consumer brands.

“We also expanded our presence in Canada during the year, bringing more of our exciting outdoor brands to Canadian consumers. On a combined basis, these actions helped deliver fiscal 2024 growth in our traditional sales channel of more than 12 percent, and growth in our international sales channel of more than 35 percent. They also position us well for fiscal 2025 and beyond, as we expect that both traditional and online retailers will continue to seek out strong and innovative brands to help drive consumer foot traffic and deliver an enhanced consumer experience.”

Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fulmer noted that the company grew its business, invested in its future, and demonstrated disciplined capital management for the year.

“We delivered net sales growth, strengthened our balance sheet, lowered our product inventories both internally and within the channel, and continued to return cash to stockholders through our share repurchase program,” he added. “We ended the year with $29.7 million in cash and no debt after paying down our line of credit to zero and repurchasing $6.0 million of our common stock during the year. At the same time, we invested in our future growth and profitability by expanding our lease agreement at our Columbia, Missouri headquarters and distribution facility, providing us with capacity for future organic growth and acquisitions, as well as operational efficiencies. We believe our results demonstrate that our brands and our company remain well positioned to deliver growth in both net sales and profitability in fiscal 2025.”

Image courtesy Grilla