Ruger issued its third quarter report last week for investors and—in a period when firearm sales are below that of last year’s record setting pace and workforce challenges and supply-chain disruptions add to the challenges—there were some surprises. The company’s plants have been running non-stop since the historic collision of the pandemic and social unrest, but the company’s ability to maintain a focus on team member welfare while running a profitable business shows in a move it made during the summer.
“Despite taking a one-week shutdown in July, we were able to increase production by 22 percent from last year,” Ruger CEO Christopher J. Killoy said in the report. “This was our first shutdown in two years, which gave our workforce a very well-deserved break, allowed us to perform some maintenance and reconfigure some of our manufacturing operations, which has us better prepared as we head into the fourth quarter and 2022.”
For the nine-month period that ended Oct. 2, 2021, the company’s net sales were $562.7 million. That figure represents a more than $150 million increase when compared to the same period the year before, when it was $399.6 million.
“Despite a moderation of overall demand as reflected in the last two quarters of adjusted NICS, we shipped all of the firearms that we built this quarter without the need to aggressively promote or discount our products,” Killoy said. “Our finished goods inventories remain near historic lows and we have just begun to replenish the distributor and retail inventories that were largely depleted over the past 18 months, putting us in a great position as we head into the fourth quarter, which has traditionally been a period of strong demand. In addition to our established firearms, we are working hard on some exciting new product initiatives, including the return of Marlin lever-action rifles…”
