Q1 EPS $0.21 VS $0.05 YR AGO
* Q1 rev up 30 pct
* Sees Q2 rev $103 mln to $105 mln
* Shares up about 14 pct after the bell
(Recasts; adds details, updates share movement)
Sept 9 (Reuters) - Strong demand for firearms and a recent acquisition helped Smith & Wesson Holding Corp post a more than five-fold jump in quarterly profit and prompted the company to forecast solid second-quarter revenue.
Shares of the Springfield, Massachusetts-based company rose about 14 percent to $6.37 in trading after the bell. They closed at $5.61 Wednesday on Nasdaq.
For the first quarter ended July 31, the 157-year-old U.S. firearms maker earned $12.6 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with $2.3 million, or 5 cents per share, a year ago.
Its recently acquired Universal Safety Response Inc business contributed 5 cents a share, the company said in a statement.
In July, Smith & Wesson, which competes with Sturm Ruger & Co Inc, Glock Inc and Taurus among others, acquired privately held Universal Safety Response to enter the perimeter security market.
Revenue shot up 30 percent to $102.2 million, boosted by higher production at its Springfield factory.
Analysts, on average, were expecting the company to earn 10 cents a share, on revenue of $94.1 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Firearm sales increased 30 percent during the quarter, while non-firearm sales rose 39 percent.
At the end of the first quarter, firearms backlog was $177.5 million, the company said, adding that cancellations reduced backlog by about 10 percent during the period.
"It is important to note that our backlog always represents product that has been ordered but not yet shipped. As a result, it is possible that portions of the backlog could be cancelled if demand should suddenly drop," Chief Financial Officer William Spengler said in a statement.
The company expects second-quarter revenue between $103 million and $105 million, with firearms contributing $88 million to $90 million and its perimeter security segment to contribute the rest.
Analysts were looking for revenue of $97.7 million for the second quarter.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan) Keywords: SMITHANDWESSON/
(nivedita.bh@thomsonreuters.com ; within U.S. +1 646223 8780; Outside U.S. +91 804135 5800; Reuters messaging: nivedita.bh.reuters.com@reuters.net)
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