Sturm, Ruger & Company Reports Third Quarter Earnings

Sturm, Ruger & Company Reports Third Quarter Earnings
Earnings of 37¢ per Share and Declares Dividend of 9.6¢ per Share.

SOUTHPORT, CONNECTICUT –-(AmmoLand.com)- Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE-RGR) announced today that for the third quarter of 2009, the Company reported net sales of $71.2 million and earnings of 37¢ per share, compared with sales of $41.8 million and earnings of 2¢ per share in the third quarter of 2008. For the nine months ended October 3, 2009, net sales were $207.1 million and earnings were $1.13 per share. For the corresponding period in 2008, net sales were $123.0 million and earnings were 14¢ per share.

The Company also announced today that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of 9.6¢ per share for the third quarter, for shareholders of record as of November 13, 2009, payable on November 30, 2009. The amount of the dividend was based on a percentage of Operating Profit after adjustment for certain items, the same approach used by the Company in the first two quarters of 2009. Under this approach, the amount of the quarterly dividend fluctuates directly with certain operating results of the Company.

Chief Executive Officer Michael O. Fifer made the following comments related to the third quarter of 2009:

• Demand for Ruger firearms remained strong as the estimated sell-through of our products from distributors to retail in the third quarter of 2009 was 214,500 units, compared with estimated sell through of 143,100 units in the third quarter of 2008.
• This year-over-year increase in demand of approximately 50% substantially exceeded the 11% growth in the National Instant Check System (NICS) background checks over the same period, suggesting the likelihood of some market share gain by the Company and some increase in inventory at the retailers. Comparisons of NICS checks from period to period are often used as a proxy for consumer demand for firearms.
• Our firearms unit production in the third quarter of 2009 was 242,500 units, compared with production of 158,900 units in the third quarter of 2008, an increase of 53% year over year.
• Cash generated from operations during the third quarter of 2009 was $15.2 million. At the end of the third quarter of 2009, our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $53.1 million. Our pre-LIFO working capital of $102.3 million, less the LIFO reserve of $41.3 million, resulted in working capital of $61.0 million and a current ratio of 2.8 to 1. The Company has no debt.
• For the first nine months of 2009, capital expenditures totaled $10.3 million. We expect to invest approximately $13 million for capital expenditures during 2009.

Today, the Company filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2009. The financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are attached to this press release – View Financial Statements

The Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov and the Ruger website. Investors are urged to read the complete Form 10-Q to ensure that they have adequate information to make informed investment judgments.

The Company will host a webcast on Thursday, October 29, 2009, at 9:00am EDT to discuss the third quarter operating results. Interested parties can access the webcast at www.ruger.com/corporate or www.earnings.com.