Prescott, Arizona– February 2024– Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) announced today that for 2023 the Company reported net sales of $543.8 million and diluted earnings of $2.71 per share, compared with net sales of $595.8 million and diluted earnings of $4.96 per share in 2022.
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For the fourth quarter of 2023, net sales were $130.6 million and diluted earnings were 58¢ per share. For the corresponding period in 2022, net sales were $149.2 million and diluted earnings were $1.06 per share.
The Company also announced today that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of 23¢ per share for the fourth quarter for stockholders of record as of March 15, 2024, payable on March 28, 2024. This dividend varies every quarter because the Company pays a percentage of earnings rather than a fixed amount per share. This dividend is approximately 40% of net income.
Chief Executive Officer Christopher J. Killoy commented on the financial results for the year, “Consumer demand remained soft in 2023, likely dampened by inflationary pressures and rising interest rates, leading to a 9% reduction in sales from the prior year. Nevertheless, we remained disciplined and continued to focus on the long-term – reducing production levels where appropriate and offering only modest promotions on select product families, resisting the temptation to enhance short-term results at the expense of our long-term strategy. Encouraged by our increased quarterly sales and profitability in the fourth quarter, we enter 2024 with a strong, debt-free balance sheet, reduced inventories at our independent distributors, and a full pipeline of new products recently launched into the market and others still under development.”
Mr. Killoy continued, “We are celebrating Ruger’s 75th Anniversary in 2024. To honor our proud heritage, we are offering commemorative firearms that will only be available this year, all of which are engraved with our 75th Anniversary logo:
- A special tribute to Bill Ruger’s first pistol, which launched the Company in 1949, a Mark IV target pistol, featuring a fully adjustable rear sight, an undercut Patridge front sight, and a heavy, tapered barrel,
- A pair of 10/22 Sporter rimfire carbines, each featuring a stainless steel barrel, silver-finished receiver, polished bolt, and match-sanded butt pad, and
- An LCP MAX double-stack, ten-round pistol, featuring a stainless steel slide and a silver-anodized aluminum trigger.
Also, several special, limited production, editions of other products will be released throughout the year. The first of these is the Diamond Anniversary Limited Edition 1911 Pistol, which features an attractive, finely detailed, laser-engraved slide.”
Mr. Killoy remarked, “In addition to these 75th Anniversary models, we have recently introduced several new products that have been met with strong demand and excitement:
- Ruger American Rifle Generation II, our first update to the American Rifle, which has been tremendously popular since its introduction in 2012. The Generation II models feature a three-position tang safety, a more ergonomic stock, and a spiral fluted barrel.
- The 60th Anniversary 10/22 Carbine, the Sixth Edition of the Ruger Collector’s Series, features a stainless steel barrel and silver-finished receiver paired with a Gray Magpul Hunter X-22 stock, a blackened bolt laser engraved with a unique 60th Anniversary marking, and a red bolt handle and trigger,
- The Mini-14 with side-folding stock, reminiscent of classic side-folding Mini-14 rifles originally produced in the late-1970s, and
- The LC Carbine chambered in .45 Auto featuring a threaded barrel, adjustable folding stock, Ruger Rapid Deploy folding sights, and ambidextrous controls.”
Mr. Killoy made the following observations related to the Company’s 2023 performance:
- The estimated unit sell-through of the Company’s products from the independent distributors to retailers decreased 7% in 2023 compared to the prior year period. For the same period, NICS background checks, as adjusted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, decreased 4%. The greater reduction in the sell-through of the Company’s products relative to adjusted NICS background checks may be attributable to aggressive promotions, discounts, rebates, and the extension of payment terms offered by our competitors.
- Sales of new products, including the MAX-9 pistol, Security-380 pistol, Super Wrangler revolver, LCP MAX pistol, Marlin lever-action rifles, LC Carbine, Small-Frame Autoloading Rifle, and American Centerfire Rifle Generation II represented $121.7 million or 23% of firearm sales in 2023, an increase from $78.4 million or 14% of sales in 2022. New product sales include only major new products that were introduced in the past two years.
- Our profitability declined in 2023 from 2022 as our gross margin decreased from 30% to 25%. The lower margin was driven by unfavorable deleveraging of fixed costs resulting from decreased production and sales, inflationary cost increases in materials, commodities, services, wages, energy, fuel, and transportation, a product mix shift toward products with relatively lower margins that remain in stronger demand, and increased promotional costs, which were partially offset by increased pricing.
- In 2023, the Company’s finished goods inventory increased 30,700 units and distributor inventories of the Company’s products decreased 39,100 units.
- Cash provided by operations during 2023 was $33.9 million. At December 31, 2023, our cash and short-term investments totaled $117.7 million. Our current ratio is 4.3 to 1 and we have no debt.
- In 2023, capital expenditures totaled $15.8 million related to new product introductions and upgrades to our manufacturing equipment and facilities. In 2024, the Company expects capital expenditures to approximate $15 million.
- In 2023, the Company returned $122.6 million to its shareholders through:
- the payment of $110.8 million of dividends, including a $5.00 per share special dividend paid in January 2023, and
- the repurchase of 264,062 shares of its common stock in the open market at an average price of $44.71 per share, for a total of $11.8 million.
- At December 31, 2023, stockholders’ equity was $331.7 million, which equates to a book value of $19.00 per share, of which $6.74 per share was cash and short-term investments.
Today, the Company filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2023. The financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are attached to this press release. – View Release
On Thursday, February 22, 2024, Sturm, Ruger will host a webcast at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss the fourth quarter and year-end 2023 operating results. Interested parties can listen to the webcast via this link or by visiting Ruger.com/corporate. Those who wish to ask questions during the webcast will need to pre-register prior to the meeting.
The Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2023 is available on the SEC website at SEC.gov and the Ruger website at Ruger.com/corporate. Investors are urged to read the complete Annual Report on Form 10-K to ensure that they have adequate information to make informed investment judgments.
About Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.
Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. is one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of rugged, reliable firearms for the commercial sporting market. With products made in America, Ruger offers consumers almost 800 variations of more than 40 product lines, across both the Ruger and Marlin brands. For 75 years, Ruger has been a model of corporate and community responsibility. Our motto, “Arms Makers for Responsible Citizens®,” echoes our commitment to these principles as we work hard to deliver quality and innovative firearms.
The Company may, from time to time, make forward-looking statements and projections concerning future expectations. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to certain qualifying risks and uncertainties, such as market demand, sales levels of firearms, anticipated castings sales and earnings, the need for external financing for operations or capital expenditures, the results of pending litigation against the Company, the impact of future firearms control and environmental legislation, and accounting estimates, any one or more of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publish revised forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date such forward-looking statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent unanticipated events.
Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. “Arms Makers for Responsible Citizens®”
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