Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Reports 2018 Diluted Earnings of $2.88 Per Share and Declares Dividend of 28¢ Per Share

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) announced today that for 2018 the Company reported net sales of $495.6 million and diluted earnings of $2.88 per share, compared with net sales of $522.3 million and diluted earnings of $2.91 per share in 2017.

For the fourth quarter of 2018, net sales were $121.1 million and diluted earnings were $0.69 per share. For the corresponding period in 2017, net sales were $118.2 million and diluted earnings were $0.59 per share.

The Company also announced today that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of 28¢ per share for the fourth quarter, for shareholders of record as of March 15, 2019, payable on March 29, 2019. 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 made the following observations related to the Company's 2018 results:

• In 2018, net sales decreased 5% from 2017, reflecting an apparent reduction in overall industry demand as evidenced by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System ("NICS") background checks (as adjusted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation), which decreased 6% in the same period.
  
  The estimated sell-through of the Company's products from the independent distributors to retailers remained consistent with the prior year due in part to continuing demand for some of the Company's products, particularly those that were introduced in December 2017.
• 2018 earnings per share of $2.88, which were negatively impacted by the reduction in sales, benefited by the following:
  • The reduced effective tax rate in 2018, resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, increased diluted earnings per share by 27¢.
  • The repurchase of 1.3 million shares of common stock in 2017 increased diluted earnings per share by 20¢.
• The comparison of earnings per share for 2018 to 2017 was impacted by 27¢ due to the change in the rates used to absorb overhead and direct labor expenses into inventory in each year:
  • In 2018, improved manufacturing efficiencies and favorable leveraging decreased the carrying cost of inventory $2.0 million and resulted in a corresponding increase to cost of products sold, which reduced 2018 earnings by 8¢.
  • In 2017, decreased manufacturing efficiencies increased the carrying cost of inventory $4.8 million and resulted in a corresponding decrease to cost of products sold, which increased 2017 earnings by 19¢.
• New products represented $145.6 million or 30% of firearms sales in 2018, compared to $137.8 million or 27% of firearms sales in 2017. New product sales include only major new products that were introduced in the past two years. In 2018, new products included the Pistol Caliber Carbine, the Precision Rimfire Rifle, the Mark IV pistol, the LCP II pistol, the Security-9 pistol, and the EC9s pistol.
• In 2018, the Company's finished goods inventory decreased 23,000 units and distributor inventories of the Company's products decreased 22,000. In the aggregate, total Company and distributor inventories decreased by 10% in 2018.
• Cash generated from operations during 2018 was $119.8 million. At December 31, 2018, our cash and short-term investments totaled $152.8 million. Our current ratio is 3.3 to 1 and we have no debt.
• In 2018, capital expenditures totaled $10.5 million. We expect our 2019 capital expenditures to total approximately $25 million.
• In 2018, the Company returned $19.2 million to its shareholders through the payment of dividends.
• At December 31, 2018, stockholders' equity was $264.2 million, which equates to a book value of $15.14 per share, of which $8.75 per share was cash and short-term investments.

Today, the Company filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2018. The financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are attached to this press release. - View Release

Tomorrow, February 21, 2019, Sturm, Ruger will host a webcast at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss the 2018 operating results. Interested parties can access the webcast at Ruger.com/corporate or by dialing 855-871-7398, participant code 6481069.

The Annual Report on Form 10-K 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.