American Outdoor Brands Inc. reported significant improvement in earnings in the fiscal fourth quarter ended April 30 as sales surged 49.6 percent. Revenues in the full year rose 65.3 percent.

American Outdoor Brands makes a wide range of outdoor products and accessories including hunting, fishing, camping, shooting, and personal security and defense products. Brands include 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, LaserLyte, and Meat!.

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2021 Financial Highlights

  • Quarterly net sales were $64.5 million, an increase of $21.4 million, or 49.6 percent, over net sales of $43.1 million for the comparable quarter last year, reflecting increases in both e-commerce and traditional sales channels.
  • Quarterly gross margin was 44.4 percent, even with a gross margin of 44.4 percent for the comparable quarter last year.
  • Quarterly net income was $1.2 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $90.7 million, or ($6.49) per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year. In the fourth quarter of last year, the company expected to be negatively impacted by several factors related to the pandemic, which constituted a triggering event that required the company to take a $98.9 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge.
  • Quarterly non-GAAP net income was $4.9 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, compared with a non-GAAP net loss of $123,000, or ($0.01) per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year. GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments for net income excludes a non-cash impairment of goodwill in the prior year, acquired intangible amortization, stock compensation, transition costs, COVID-19 expenses, and other costs.
  • Quarterly Adjusted EBITDAS was $7.0 million, or 10.8 percent of net sales, compared with $3.1 million, or 7.3 percent of net sales, for the comparable quarter last year.

Full Year Fiscal 2021 Financial Highlights

  • Full-year net sales were $276.7 million, an increase of $109.3 million, or 65.3 percent, over net sales of $167.4 million for the prior year, reflecting increases in both e-commerce and traditional sales channels.
  • Full-year gross margin was 45.8 percent, an increase of 340 basis points, over the gross margin of 42.4 percent for the comparable quarter last year.
  • Full-year net income was $18.4 million, or $1.29 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $96.2 million, or ($6.88) per diluted share, last year. Last year, the company recorded a $98.9 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge.
  • Full-year non-GAAP net income was $33.0 million, or $2.32 per diluted share, compared with a non-GAAP net income of $3.2 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the prior year. GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments for net income excludes a non-cash impairment of goodwill in the prior year, acquired intangible amortization, stock compensation, transition costs, COVID-19 expenses, and other costs.
  • Full-year Adjusted EBITDAS was $47.3 million, or 17.1 percent of net sales, compared with $12.3 million, or 7.3 percent of net sales, for the prior year.

Brian Murphy, president and CEO, said, “Fiscal 2021 was a historic year for our company. With the completion of our spin-off in August 2020, we became an independent public company dedicated to building authentic, lifestyle brands that help consumers make the most out of the moments that matter. We believe that sharing our passion for creating brands and products that allow people to pursue their outdoor adventures was especially timely, as consumers increasingly looked to outdoor activities, such as fishing, hunting, shooting sports, camping, and hiking, in response to travel restrictions and social distancing, and as they continued to demonstrate an increased interest in self-protection. Some people turned to these activities for the very first time, and others for the first time in a long time. Regardless, we are pleased and proud that so many of them took our brands along on their journey. We are also extremely proud of our employees, whose loyalty, hard work, and dedication helped us to establish our new company, serving our customers with continuity, and deliver outstanding results, despite a year of unprecedented uncertainty driven by the pandemic. We thank you.”

Net sales grew more than 65 percent and represented products from across the company’s four brand lanes—Marksman, Defender, Harvester, and Adventurer.

“While our brands clearly aligned well with strong consumer participation trends in personal protection and the outdoor lifestyle activities we serve, we also believe that our ‘Dock & Unlock’ strategy, designed to provide entry into new and larger addressable markets, helped drive our strong results. We believe fiscal 2021 ushered in a new era for the outdoor industry, one that welcomed many new participants who, we believe, will continue to explore the outdoors in the future. We are poised to build upon our foundation as we set our sights on future growth and take our brands from ‘Niche to Known’,” concluded Murphy.

Andrew Fulmer, chief financial officer, said, “Our financial results for fiscal 2021, which represents our first year as an independent public company, are a success by any measure. We have established a business structure that not only drove product innovation and record net sales, but one that allowed us to generate strong profits as we continued to build a balance sheet capable of supporting our future growth initiatives. Our Adjusted EBITDAS of $47.3 million for fiscal 2021, represented growth of nearly 300 percent versus the prior year and reflected the benefit of investments we initiated in our e-commerce and logistics capabilities long before our spin-off. We generated a free cash flow of over $29.0 million in fiscal 2021 and ended the year with cash of $60.8 million and no borrowings on our $50.0 million senior secured credit facility, which is expandable by an additional $15.0 million under certain conditions. This means that we now have over $125.0 million in available capital to support our organic growth and potential future acquisitions. Lastly, we are providing our guidance for fiscal 2022, which began May 1, 2021.”

Outlook
For the current year ended April 22, the company expects:

  • Sales in the range of $280 million and $295 million against $276.7 million;
  • GAAP income per share on a diluted basis in the range of $1.00 and $1.24 against $1.29;
  • Non-GAAP income per share on a diluted basis in the range of $2.02 and $2.26 against $2.32; and
  • Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDAS in the range of $42 million and $47 million against $47.3 million.

Photo courtesy American Outdoor Brands