text: James Debney, boss of former Smith & Wesson, offers remarks as he blames ‘challenging market conditions’ for nosedive in profits 
   
   James Debney, the British-born chief executive of the company that made the rifle used by the gunman in the school shooting in Florida last month, on Thursday said he “shared the nation’s grief” over the massacre. 
   
   Announcing American Outdoor Brands’ (AOB) latest results, Debney called the shooting, which killed 17 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, an “incomprehensible loss of life” but said the company would continue to support the right of Americans to carry firearms. 
   
   “We share the nation’s grief over this incomprehensible and senseless loss of life, and we share the desire to make our community safer,” said Debney, adding the company would “continue to support the development of effective solutions that accomplish that objective, while protecting the rights of the law-abiding firearm owner.” 
   
   Meet the British CEO of the firm behind the gun that brought tragedy to Florida Read more 
   
   His comments came as Debney blamed “challenging market conditions” for a dramatic slump in the company’s profits and sales. 
   
   AOB, formerly known as Smith & Wesson, saw its share price collapse as it reported a $4.7m profit over the quarter compared with $37.6m a year earlier. Sales revenue fell close to a third, down to $157.4m compared with $233.5m for the same period the previous year. 
   
   “Our results for the third quarter reflected a continuation of challenging market conditions in the consumer market for firearms,” said Debney. 
   
   Facebook Twitter Pinterest James Debney. Photograph: Boston Globe/Boston Globe via Getty Images 
   
   Like its rivals, AOB has experienced a sharp drop in sales since Donald Trump was elected president. One gun manufacturer, the 200-year-old Remington, has filed for bankruptcy. The so-called “Trump slump” comes after a gun-buying bonanza during the Obama presidency, when buyers feared legislation would curtail their gun-buying activity. 
   
   Last month, a 19-year-old former student at the high school in Florida used a legally bought Smith & Wesson M&P 15 .223 semi-automatic rifle to kill 17 students and teachers. 
   
   The killing has led to furious calls for gun reform from students at the school, some politicians, and the public. Major gun retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart have changed their gun sales policies, with Dick’s no longer stocking assault-style rifles and both companies raising the age for buying guns to 21. 
   
   'The Trump slump': Remington files for bankruptcy as gun sales tumble Read more 
   
   Debney, a University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology graduate who formerly ran Presto, a company making garbage bin liners and plastic wrap, is a major supporter of the National Rifle Association (NRA), the gun lobby group. 
   
   
   
   Although he has admitted never having fired a gun before he took the job, Debney was awarded the NRA’s Golden Ring of Freedom, a badge of honor that comes with a yellow blazer and is given only to those who have raised over a million dollars for the organization. ||||| SHARE THIS ARTICLE Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email 
   
   Age limits and bans on assault-style rifles are in vogue now, but the biggest threat to gun sales may still be President Donald Trump. 
   
   Consumer demand is falling to “new, lower levels,” according to the 166-year-old maker of Smith & Wesson firearms. The company, American Outdoor Brands Corp., is bracing for the downturn by cutting jobs and repaying debt. Rivals, including one plunging into bankruptcy, are contending with the same slowdown. 
   
   Gun Slump Firearm sales drop during Trump's first year in office after steady gains 
   
   Call it the Trump slump. The gun industry thrived under President Barack Obama, as firearms enthusiasts expected crackdowns and rushed to stockpile weapons. Those fears have eased -- and sales have fallen -- since Trump won the White House in November 2016. Gunmaker stocks, already on the ropes, took a further hit after the shooting last month at a Florida High School that killed 17 people. 
   
   “We will operate our business under the assumption that the next 12 to 18 months could deliver flattish revenues,” American Outdoor Chief Executive Officer James Debney said Thursday on a conference call to discuss earnings. 
   
   The gun industry has come under greater scrutiny since last month’s shooting in Parkland, Florida, even if the potential for tighter restrictions on firearms seems lower than when Obama was president. 
   
   A social-media movement against the National Rifle Association led to numerous companies cutting ties with the gun-rights group, including Symantec Corp., Hertz Global Holdings Inc., Avis Budget Group Inc. and MetLife Inc. 
   
   Sales Policies 
   
   Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., Walmart Inc. and Kroger Co. said this week they would no longer sell assault-style rifles such as the AR-15, the weapon used in the Florida shooting and made by American Outdoor. The retailers also said they would increase the purchasing age for firearms and ammunition to 21 in their stores. 
   
   Despite Trump’s support for gun rights under the Second Amendment, he tweeted this week about potential restrictions. In a meeting with lawmakers late Wednesday, he said some politicians were “petrified” of the NRA. Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called on Trump to support tougher curbs Thursday, saying the gun-rights group has had Republicans in a “headlock for decades.” 
   
   By Thursday, the president had tweeted about a “Good (Great) meeting in the Oval Office tonight with the NRA!” The discussion with the NRA’s chief lobbyist suggested that Trump could be shifting position again in a gun-safety debate that has been deadlocked for years. 
   
   Read more: Trump meets with NRA a day after urging gun curbs 
   
   “Given the more fluid political environment, it’s hard to read demand going forward, particularly given growing grass-roots push for controls on sales” of assault rifles, Cai von Rumohr, an analyst at Cowen & Co., said in a note to investors Friday. 
   
   The politics whiplashed the stock Friday. After plunging as much as 12 percent early in the day, shares rebounded and posted gains. A lobbyist for the NRA said the president retreated from some of the gun-control measures he had been speaking about favorably. American Outdoor rose 3.1 percent to $9.70 at 2:26 p.m. in New York. The company fell 27 percent this year through the close on Thursday. 
   
   Rival Sturm Ruger & Co. rose as much as 5.6 percent to $47.75, also reversing an earlier drop. Remington Outdoor Co., the iconic gunmaker controlled for years by Stephen Feinberg’s Cerberus Capital Management, announced bankruptcy plans last month. 
   
   Lower Profits 
   
   Some forms of gun control, including magazine restrictions and strengthened background checks, are unlikely to have much impact on the manufacturer, James Hardiman, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in a Feb. 27 report. Still, the buying sprees seen in past years, when gun rights were perceived to be threatened under Obama, haven’t materialized under Trump. 
   
   The larger problem is flagging demand. It’s not just politics. There’s also fewer hunters and a diminished sense of urgency around personal protection in an era of declining crime rates. 
   
   American Outdoor chopped its profit forecast for the third straight quarter. The company projected earnings of 31 cents to 33 cents a share for the current fiscal year, which ends April 30. That trailed the lowest of six analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Wall Street had been expecting 60 cents a share. 
   
   The gunmaker also lowered its sales target for the year to a midpoint of $599 million from a December projection of $662.5 million. Analysts had predicted $655.6 million. 
   
   Gun Discounts 
   
   “We’ve been adjusting in this challenging market environment and obviously, working really hard internally to get aligned with this market demand,” CEO Debney said. 
   
   Debney warned about the sales slump in December, saying the fear-based buying of years past was no longer happening. Slack demand and a glut of inventory were forcing firearm manufacturers to discount heavily, Debney said. 
   
   Firearm background checks compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a proxy for gun sales, fell 8.4 percent last year after increasing in 13 out of the last 14 years. The checks in January were the lowest in six years on an adjusted basis, Debney said. 
   
   American Outdoor, preparing for an extended slowdown, has repaid $75 million in recent months and extended the due date on $75 million of notes to August 2020.
target: – The CEO of the company that made the rifle used in the Parkland mass shooting says the firm "shares the nation's grief"—but it hasn't changed its mind about gun laws. "We share the nation’s grief over this incomprehensible and senseless loss of life, and we share the desire to make our community safer,” James Debney, CEO of American Outdoor Brands, said when announcing the firm's latest results Thursday, per the Guardian. He said the company, formerly known as Smith & Wesson, would seek "effective solutions" to safety issues, while still "protecting the rights of the law-abiding firearm owner." Debney is a strong supporter of the NRA, though he has said he never fired a gun before becoming CEO of a gun-maker. Debney blamed "challenging market conditions" for falling sales and a collapse in profits, Bloomberg reports. He added, however, that after the Parkland shooting, there had been "increased foot traffic" to gun stores, leading to "some increased sales," Reuters reports. "We will operate our business under the assumption that the next 12 to 18 months could deliver flattish revenues," said Debney, announcing that the company had cut its profits forecast and sales targets. In after-hours trading, the company's stock, already down more than 50% over the last 12 months, fell 12%. (The GOP is "flummoxed" by President Trump's push for gun control.)