Universal Firearms Corp

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal ...

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., June 30, 2011 -- /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: SWHC), a leader in the business of safety, security, protection, and sport, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended April 30, 2011.

Michael F. Golden, Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We completed fiscal 2011 with strong manufacturing performance in our core firearm business, highlighted by record quarterly sales, record units shipped, and a 153% sequential quarterly increase in our backlog. These achievements for the quarter were driven by significant growth in demand across nearly all firearm product lines, with particular strength exhibited by our recently launched products and our repositioned products, including the BODYGUARD® line as well as the polymer framed pistol and modern sporting rifle lines. With our firearm business running at record production levels at year-end and the consolidation of our Thomson/Center Arms operations underway, we intend to remain focused on adding highly flexible manufacturing capacity and implementing lean initiatives.  These actions are directly aimed at increasing shippable product to meet demand as well as improving margins in fiscal 2012.

"While the recent strategic rebranding of our security solutions division under the globally recognized Smith & Wesson brand has been well received, the environment in which this business operates remains challenging. Lower levels of government and corporate capital funding, as well as the presence of price-focused competition, remain near-term factors.  Accordingly, our efforts have centered on reducing costs as well as developing and deploying new products to address broader customer requirements.  We believe we are taking the necessary actions to get this business aligned with current market conditions, and we remain committed to this business as a platform for expansion beyond firearms into the security market," concluded Mr. Golden.  

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2011 Financial Highlights

Net sales for the fourth quarter were a record $111.8 million compared with $103.8 million in the year-ago quarter, an increase of 7.7%. Gross profit margin for the fourth quarter was 30.2% compared with 31.3% for the prior year quarter, including the impact of costs associated with the consolidation of the Thompson/Center Arms operations. Excluding those costs, fourth quarter gross profit margin would have slightly exceeded the prior year quarter. Operating expense for the fourth quarter totaled $28.4 million, or 25.4% of sales, compared with operating expense of $23.7 million, or 22.8% of sales, for the fourth quarter of last year.  The increased operating expense included increased legal costs in the firearm division and downsizing costs in the security solutions division. Net income for the fourth quarter was $1.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared with net income of $2.7 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year.  Current fourth quarter results include the negative impact of $0.08 per diluted share related to our security solutions division and the negative impact of $0.05 per diluted share related to unusual expenses during the quarter, including costs associated with the Thompson/Center Arms consolidation and the previously announced DOJ and SEC investigations. Net income for the fourth quarter last year included a non-cash, fair-value adjustment to the contingent consideration liability related to the company's acquisition of Universal Safety Response (since renamed Smith & Wesson Security Solutions) that decreased fully diluted earnings by $0.04 per share.   Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDAS for the fourth quarter totaled $12.9 million compared with $15.1 million for the year-ago quarter.

M1 Carbine | Sweatshirts & Hoodies

M1 Carbine

Development history

Limitations of weapons in the U.S. arsenal

During the 1920s, the U.S. Army had sought a handier semi-automatic rifle in a lighter caliber to replace the bolt-action M1903 rifle chambered for the same powerful .30-06 Springfield standard round used in the BAR and the M1917/M1919 machine guns. U.S. Army Ordnance tested in competition semi-automatic rifles designed by John C. Garand, by John T. Thompson’s Auto-Ordnance Corp. and by John D. Pedersen. After acceptance of the rifle designed by Garand and chambered for the .276 Pedersen cartridge, the decision was made to keep the .30-06 round to simplify logistics. Standardized in 1936, the .30-06 M1 rifle was approximately one pound heavier than the M1903 it was replacing.

A U.S. Marine with the M1 carbine in Guam, 1944.

A Saginaw M1 carbine, made in Grand Rapids, Michigan, used by Marines in the Pacific Theater in World War II.

For many specialist soldiers serving in the rapidly evolving modern U.S. Army just prior to World War II, the full-size infantry rifle as an individual weapon had proved unworkable. This included an increasing proportion of service troops (truck drivers, supply personnel, radiomen, and linemen) as well as some specialist frontline troops who might need a handier weapon (paratroopers, officers, forward observers, medics, engineers and mortar crews). During prewar and early war field exercises, it was noticed that these troops, when issued the rifle, often found their individual weapon too heavy and cumbersome. In addition to impeding the soldier’s mobility, a slung rifle would frequently catch on brush, bang the helmet, or tilt it over the eyes. Many soldiers found the rifle slid off the shoulder unless slung diagonally across the back, where it prevented the wearing of standard field packs and haversacks. Alternate weapons such as the M1911 pistol and M1917 revolver, while undeniably convenient, were often insufficiently accurate or powerful. The Thompson submachine gun was very effective in close-range combat but nonetheless heavy, limited in effective range (50-75 meters) and penetration, and not significantly easier to carry or maintain than the service rifle.

U.S. Army Ordnance decided that a new weapon was needed for these other roles but determined that a weapon for non-combat soldiers should add no more than five pounds to their existing equipment load. The requirement for the new firearm called for a defensive weapon with an effective range of 300 yards, much lighter and handier than the rifle, with greater range, firepower, and accuracy than the pistol, while weighing half as much as the submachine gun.

The Gun Digest Book of Guns & Prices 2011

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