(Reuters) – Smith & Wesson Holdings Corp reported better-than-expected second-quarter results as sales of handguns increased in the wake of a fresh push for gun control by U.S. President Barack Obama.
The company, whose shares rose 6 percent in extended trading, also forecast current-quarter earnings above analyst estimates.
Obama urged supporters in September to pursue gun-control measures after mass shootings in Washington and Chicago put the spotlight back onto the problem of gun violence.
Smith & Wesson said on Tuesday it expects to earn 28 to 30 cents per share in the third quarter. Analysts on average were expecting 27 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Income from continuing operations rose to $17.1 million, or 28 cents per share, for the second quarter ended October 31 from $16.4 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 2 percent to $139.3 million.
Sales of handguns, including the M&P; pistols, rose 27.4 percent.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of 21 cents per share on revenue of $137.5 million.
Smith & Wesson shares closed at $12.12 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar; Editing by Don Sebastian)
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