Boston, MA 03/05/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) is a maker of firearms with customers spread around the world. The company defied the global trend of firearm sales to post third quarter performance results that exceeded estimates. In fact, for Zacks, the company has surpassed its estimates in the last 11 quarters. So then, what exactly did the company say about its latest results and what can investors expect in the future? The questions are answered.
First and foremost, Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) was able to post better than expected results mainly due to higher sales and also due to good margins. Nonetheless, operating expenses were higher than they were in the same quarter the prior year as revenue percentage.
Results as they came
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) was able to realize earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.35, surpassing the estimates by Zacks at $0.29 by 20.7 percent. The earnings in the quarter in review also beat the earnings of $0.26 realized in the same quarter last year by more than 34 percent.
Revenue in the quarter was up more than 7 percent to $145.9 million on year-over-year basis. That number was above $142 million estimated by Zacks analysts. The strong revenue was helped a lot by the advancement in sales figures of handguns which were up almost 30 percent year-over-year.
The launch of new products by Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) also worked the trick in boosting sales. After the SHOT Show in January, incremental orders started pouring in especially for revolvers.
The operating expenses in the third quarter were $27.5 million, about 18 percent of the total revenue. That figure compared with expenses of $21.9 million, reflecting 16 percent of revenue in the same quarter in its fiscal 2013. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) said that operating expenses were higher in the just reported quarter due to big spending in resource planning that was initiated in the previous quarter.
Performance Outlook
With strong results already in for the third quarter, focus is now on the fourth quarter. Investors will be looking to see if the good performance can be sustained. And on this front, Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) is not ready to disappoint. Revenue of $159 – $164 million and earnings of $0.37 – $0.40 have been guided for fourth quarter. These figures compare with $165 million and earnings of $0.37 estimated by Zacks for the quarter.
