Southport gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. reported fourth-quarter 2012 earnings growth of 85 percent compared to the previous year on strong sales and new product introductions.
Ruger announced Feb. 27 that it earned $1 per share on fourth-quarter sales of $141.8 million, topping the consensus earnings per share estimate of 94 cents and blowing away fourth-quarter 2011 earnings of 54 cents per share.
For 2012, Ruger, which has manufacturing facilities in Newport, N.H., and Prescott, Ariz., earned $3.60 per share on net sales of $491.8 million, compared with 2011 earnings of $2.09 per share and sales of $328.8 million.
CEO Michael O. Fifer attributed the 77 percent annual earnings increase in part to new products introduced over the year. New products, like the Ruger American rifle, the 10/22 TakeDown rifle and the SR22 pistol, among others, accounted for 38 percent of the company’s 2012 firearms sales.
The company estimated that the quantity of Ruger units sold from distributors to retailers increased 73 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, and increased 63 percent for the year compared to 2011.
