American Outdoor Brands Inc., the outdoor gear and accessories business, recently spun off from Smith & Wesson Brands, reported sales in the first quarter ended July 31 of $50.5 million, an increase of 51.9 percent, over net sales of $33.2 million for the comparable quarter last year, driven primarily by increases in both e-commerce and traditional sales channels.
Quarterly gross margin was 47.0 percent, an increase of 590 basis points, over the gross margin of 41.1 percent for the comparable quarter last year.
Quarterly net income was $1.8 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $5.0 million, or 36 cents, for the comparable quarter last year.
Quarterly non-GAAP net income was $5.0 million, or 36 cents per diluted share, compared with a non-GAAP net loss of $1.2 million, or 9 cents, for the comparable quarter last year. GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments for net income exclude costs related to the acquired intangible amortization, stock compensation, and other costs.
Quarterly Adjusted EBITDAS was $8.7 million, or 17.3 percent of net sales, compared with $10,000, or 0.0 percent of net sales, for the comparable quarter last year.
Brian Murphy, president and CEO, said, “I want to thank all of our employees for their incredible accomplishments. In the past several months, this dedicated team has successfully organized and executed our spin-off into an independent company, maintained safety protocols to ensure the health and safety of our workforce and our business, and delivered first-quarter results that featured significant growth in both net sales and profitability. We believe our net sales growth of nearly 52 percent reflected the strong alignment between our diverse brand portfolio and current consumer trends, including participation in outdoor activities, driven in part by pandemic related travel restrictions and social distancing, increased interest in self-protection, and our ability to replenish retailer inventories. We also believe our results demonstrated the benefit of investments we have made, over time, in our logistics capabilities and our e-commerce platform. Our objective is to situate our brands wherever the consumer expects to find them. Given that our e-commerce channel and our traditional channel each contributed an equal share of our net sales in the quarter, we are clearly achieving that objective. In addition, we believe our increased profitability in the quarter demonstrated that we have built a leverageable platform that positions us well for future growth. On August 24, 2020, we began operating as a standalone company. We believe that our passion for products that allow people to pursue their outdoor adventures is especially timely, as consumers increasingly look to outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, shooting sports, camping, and hiking. We are excited about our future, and we look forward to delivering innovative products that make it possible for people to re-think their connection with the outdoors.”
Andrew Fulmer, chief financial officer, said, “Increased net sales in the quarter benefited, in part, from an initiative we began in fiscal 2020 to migrate certain retail customers from lumpy, ‘bulk buy’ ordering to a more balanced approach. That initiative allowed us to achieve more direct alignment between those retailers’ sales and our replenishment of their inventory, ultimately driving net sales. During the quarter, we prepared for our spin-off, which became effective last week. Those preparations included the establishment of a $50.0 million senior secured credit facility, expandable by an additional $15.0 million under certain conditions. This new credit facility, combined with $25.0 million of starting cash from our former parent company, means that we now have $75 million to $90 million in available capital, providing significant liquidity as we begin our new life as an independent company.”
American Outdoor Brands produces products under the brands Caldwell, Crimson Trace, Wheeler, Tipton, Frankford Arsenal, Lockdown, BOG, Hooyman, Smith & Wesson Accessories, M&P Accessories, Thompson/Center Arms Accessories, Performance Center Accessories, Schrade, Old Timer, Uncle Henry, Imperial, BUBBA, UST, and LaserLyte.
Photo courtesy RMEF
