Vista Outdoor (VSTO) reported earnings on Thu 9 Nov 2017 (b/o)

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Vista Outdoor beats by $0.07, reports revs in-line; cuts FY18 guidance below consensus; announces intention to divest brands within sports protection business, leadership changes 

• Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings adj. of $0.34 per share, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.27; revenues fell 14.2% year/year to $587 mln vs the $588.85 mln Capital IQ Consensus. Sales were down 16 percent on an organic basis.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY18, sees EPS of $0.50-0.60 from $1.10-1.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.23 Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY18 revs of $2.24-2.26 bln from $2.36-2.42 bln vs. $2.39 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "I am honored to be elected chairman of Vista Outdoor," said Callahan. "I am optimistic about the future, and the board is impressed with how quickly our new CEO Chris Metz has wrapped his mind around the business. His strategic, savvy and decisive approach is exactly the right leadership the company needs to realize the full potential of our diverse portfolio of iconic brands." "I am excited to combine my passion for these brands and this industry with my professional experience and deep background in consumer products," said Vista Outdoor Chief Executive Officer Chris Metz. "While I've only been here a short time, I realize we have much to do: we must make significant changes, act decisively, and move quickly to reposition and stabilize the company. We will take an aggressive position on profit improvement through both margin expansion and cost reductions across all areas of the core business. "We're in the process of completing a portfolio review of our brands, and we will divest assets where we see the potential to unlock shareholder value. As a first outcome of this process, we are announcing our intention to sell the Boll, Serengeti and Cb brands in the Sports Protection business. These brands were acquired as part of the Bushnell transaction in 2013 and focus primarily on fashion, prescription and safety eyewear, which are areas that we have determined are not core to our business. The sale of these brands is expected to take place over the next few quarters. "To allow our business leaders to drive changes faster and have clear line of sight to the goals at hand, I have decided to eliminate the Shooting Sports segment president position," said Metz. With this restructuring, Shooting Sports President Bob Keller will leave the company on November 17, 2017.