Remington Outdoor Company reported sharply higher losses in the first quarter ended March 29 as sales declined by $53.9 million, or 21.2 percent.
The country's largest manufacturing of firearms said sales reached $201.3 million compared with $255.2 million in the first quarter ended March 30, 2014.
Grosss margin declined 110 basis points to 21.4 percent, Despite cutting selling, general and administration expenses 9.5 percent, they rose to 21.3 percent of net sales, compared with 18.5 percent a year earlier.
The company reported an operating loss of $6.2 million, up 44 percent from the year earlier quarter. Net loss reached $13.2 million, or $78.56 per diluted common share, compared with a loss of $11.8 million, or $70.83 per diluted share.
Remington Outdoor ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $160.5 million, or about flat with a year earlier. Trade receivables declined 4.4 percent to $162 million and inventories fell by $102.6 million, or 34.2 percent to $197.0 million, including $102.5 million in finished goods, or 34.6 percent below year earlier levels. The company's long-term debt increased 2.8 percent to $863.2 million.
Remington also disclosed that it does not expect to distribute more than $60 million buying back its shares from several institutional investors that owns stake in the company through their holdings in funds manged by Cerberus Capital Management LLP. Cerberus informed limited partners at several of its private equity funds May 15 that it would facilitate such sales to enable them to divest their stakes in Remington after failing to sell Remington outright.
