Ammo, Inc., the owner of GunBroker.com, saw revenues in the fiscal year ended March 31 soar 285 percent to $240.3 million. On a call with Fred Wagenhals, chairman and CEO of Ammo, Inc., the owner of GunBroker.com, said Ammo remains “well-positioned” to double its market share over the next two to three years.

Wagenhals said the gains came despite opening its new manufacturing facility in Manitowoc, WI, and supply chain disruptions.

“Fiscal 2022 was a banner year for Ammo, far exceeding even our highest expectations,” said Wagenhals.

GunBroker.com is the largest online marketplace dedicated to firearms, hunting, shooting, and related products. Aside from merchandise bearing its logo, GunBroker.com sells none of the items listed on its website. Third-party sellers list items on the site, and Federal and state laws govern the sale of firearms and other restricted items.

Ammo, Inc. also manufactures ammunition and munition components under the Streak Visual Ammunition, Stelth and tactical Armor Piercing (AP) and Hard Armor Piercing Incendiary (HAPI) names.

The 285 percent sales gain resulted from increased production capacity, coupled with strong customer demand, resulting in $107.2 million of additional sales of bulk pistol and rifle ammunition. This performance included an increase of $4.7 million in Proprietary Ammunition sales, $1.3 million in sales from its casing operations and $64.6 million in revenue generated from the GunBroker.com Marketplace. 

Management expects Proprietary Ammunition’s sales growth rate to outpace its Standard Ammunition’s sales substantially.

Gross margins in the year grew to approximately 37 percent, compared to roughly 18 percent. The improvement reflects the inclusion of its GunBroker.com Marketplace, which, by operational business model, has significantly higher margins than any manufacturing operation.

Operating expenses increased by approximately $34.8 million over the year ended March 31, 2021, but decreased as a percentage of sales from 26.8 percent in fiscal 2021 to 21.5 percent, a 25 percent decrease in the reported period. The dollar increase was primarily related to approximately $20.6 million of additional operating expenses associated with GunBroker.com, including $12.1 million out of $13.7 million in non-cash depreciation and amortization expenses for the year. Total non-cash operating expenses were approximately $20.1 million for the year, compared to $3.2 million in the prior year.

Net Income of $33.2 million, of 27 cents a share, compared to a net loss of $7.8 million, or 14 cents. On an adjusted basis, earnings were 53 cents a share, up from 7 cents representing a 651 percent increase. Adjusted EBITDA of $75.5 million compared to $8.1 million, an 832 percent hike.

Wagenhals listed three drivers of growth going forward.

  • “First, we are at capacity in our current facility, delivering 400 million rounds of loaded ammunition this past year. That has caused us to build our new 160,000-square-foot world-class facilities, where we expect to increase our capacity to one billion rounds once fully operational; this gives us a significant opportunity to increase revenue, drive down manufacturing costs and improve margins.
  • “Second, GunBroker.com was fully integrated in 2022, and a number of initiatives are now rolling out to capture a significantly greater percentage of the transactional volume from that platform, including credit card processing, credit products, gift card and loyalty programs for both the buyer and the seller.
  • “Finally, Ammo continues to progress in its military programs division, primarily with the support of U.S. special forces.”

Also expected to drive sales and margin growth are

  • increased sales or higher-margin proprietary products such as the Streak Visual Ammunition, Stelth and ammunition developed in support of its military and government programs; 
  • the introduction of new lines of ammunition that historically carry higher margins in the consumer and government sectors; 
  • reduced component costs through the operation of its ammunition segment and expansion of strategic relationships with component providers; 
  • expanded use of automation equipment that reduces the total labor required to assemble finished products; and 
  • better leveraging of its fixed costs through expanded production to support the sales objectives.

Operating expenses are projected to continue to decrease as a percentage of sales in the 2023 fiscal year as Ammo leverages its workforce and expands its sales opportunities.

Wagenhals noted that sales were only $2 million in 2018.

“We started Ammo in 2017, intending to integrate technology into the ammunition industry,” said Wagenhals. “And, by all measures, we have succeeded in doing so. Judging by our financial performance over the past fiscal year, we continue to believe and operate as if we are still early in our growth curve. There remain multiple opportunities to grow revenue substantially, enhance margins and drive shareholder value. And we intend to continue to capitalize on those opportunities and look forward to updating our progress to shareholders at the appropriate moment.”

Looking ahead, Ammo’s guidance for the current fiscal year calls for:

  • $300 million to $310 million in revenues, representing growth in the range of 5 percent to 9 percent;
  • $82 million to $85 million in EBITDA; and
  • $108 million to $111 million adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2023, up about 44 percent from $75.5 million.

Photo courtesy GunBroker.com