Investing.com -- Shares in Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC), one of the largest manufacturers of firearms and law enforcement goods in the U.S., slipped nearly 5% in after-hours trading after the company posted disappointing quarterly earnings and soft guidance for the remainder of the year on Thursday.
While the Springfield-based company reported a 6.2% increase in net sales to $181.0 million for its fourth quarter which ended in late-April, its earnings for the period fell to $21.9 million or 0.40 per share. In 2014, during the same quarter Smith & Wesson posted earnings of $25 million or 0.44 per share. The gun manufacturers' revenues were tamped down by a decrease in its firearm division to $166.4 million in the quarter, a decline of 2.4%.
For the fiscal year as a whole, Smith & Wesson reported net sales of $551.9 million, an 11.9% decrease on a yearly basis. The company's firearms division realized net sales of $531.2 million, a decline of 15.2% in comparison with the previous year. Nevertheless, Smith & Wesson CEO James Debney was pleased with his company's end to the fiscal year, bolstered by a 37.1% gross margin for the period.
"We are very pleased with our fiscal 2015 results, particularly our fourth quarter performance. During fiscal 2015, we marked a number of achievements as we remained focused on executing our long-term strategy," Debney said in a statement. "We moved further into the hunting and shooting accessories market by acquiring BTI and we strengthened our supply chain with the vertical integration of our principal injection molding supplier. Both acquisitions were accretive to gross margins."
Moving forward, Smith & Wesson CFO Jeffrey Buchanan said the company redeemed all of its 5.875% senior notes earlier this week through the proceeds of a $105 million, five-year term loan. The actions, Buchanan added, will create value for the company's shareholders by optimizing its capital efficiency.
Still, the company issued a relatively soft guidance for the current quarter, as it anticipates revenue of $140 to $145 million or 0.21 to 0.23 per share. The forecast is slightly below analysts' expectations of $145 million or 0.25 per share.
"We anticipate further sales and earnings growth in fiscal 2016 as we continue to position our company for long-term success," Debney added.
Shares of Smith & Wesson fell 0.72 or 4.47% to 15.38 in after-hours trading.