=American Outdoor Brands (AOBC) reported earnings on Thur 7 Sept 17 (a/h)

American Outdoor Brands misses by $0.09, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS, revs below consensus; lowers FY18 EPS, revs guidance

• Reports Q1 (Jul) earnings of $0.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.11; revenues fell 37.7% year/year to $129.02 mln vs the $147.24 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Quarterly non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDAS was $12.9 million, or 10.0% of net sales, compared with $65.8 million, or 31.8% of net sales, for the comparable quarter last year.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.07-0.12, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $140-150 mln vs. $170.31 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co lowers guidancefor FY18, sees EPS of $1.04-1.24 (Prior $1.42-1.62), excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.53 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY18 revs of $700-740 mln (Prior $750-790 mln) vs. $774.49 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• "Our financial results for the first quarter reflected lower than anticipated shipments in our Firearms business, consistent with a softening in wholesaler and retailer orders, partially offset by increased revenue from our Outdoor Products & Accessories business, which grew organically at 11.4% and which more than doubled inorganically. Total revenue for the quarter also faced a challenging comparison to last year's heightened level of firearms demand, which we believe was driven by concerns for personal safety and the potential for increased firearm legislation."
• "In Firearms, we believe units shipped in the first quarter were impacted by an extremely successful promotion on our M&P Shield pistols that we initiated in our prior fourth quarter. That promotion exceeded our expectations and we believe it pulled forward our shipments into the fourth quarter as wholesalers and retailers stocked up in preparation for the strong consumer demand for those products that they believed would occur -- and that did in fact occur -- over the ensuing 90 days. In addition, we believe that heightened channel inventory from multiple manufacturers at retail locations contributed to lower orders in the quarter. Despite those heightened channel inventories, we were pleased that our inventory at distributors actually declined during the quarter. For the remainder of the year, our focus in Firearms will be on bringing Gemtech suppressors into our product line and on introducing several significant new firearms in the second half of this fiscal year. We plan to further increase our internal inventory in preparation for new product launches, the upcoming fall hunting and holiday seasons, and the industry ordering shows that occur in January and February. In Outdoor Products & Accessories, we will focus on new product introductions, including offerings from our acquisition of Bubba Blade, a premium knife brand that is widely recognized among outdoor enthusiasts for some of the finest knives for fishing and hunting."