Byrna Technologies reports Q4 EPS (1c), consensus 7c

Reports Q4 revenue $16.0M, consensus $16.36M. CEO Bryan Ganz commented, "While sales growth for the full year 2022 was a disappointing 14%, over the last two quarters of the year, Byrna experienced year-over-year revenue growth of 43%. Full year growth was dragged down by the 14% sales decline in the first half of 2022. The decline in topline sales in the first half of 2022 was due to the $9.0M spike in sales in the first half of 2021 resulting from an unexpected and unsolicited endorsement from Sean Hannity on live television in April of 2021. If we back out the $9.0M in "Hannity Effect" sales that occurred in Q2 of 2021, sales in the first half of 2022 would have been up 47% year-over-year and full year 2022 sales would have been up 45% year-over-year, in keeping with Byrna’s long-term growth trajectory. First, there is an overall sense of unease driven by a spike in violent crime and growing civil unrest. This is a global phenomenon as people the world over are becoming increasingly concerned for their safety and the safety of their families. At the same time, there is growing outrage over the level of gun violence. Again, this is a global phenomenon and is resulting in tougher gun laws. Just a few months ago, Canada essentially banned the sale of handguns. This had an immediate effect on Byrna as we saw sales in Canada more than triple after the ban went into effect. Even in the US, an increasing number of states such as Oregon are adopting more stringent gun laws. We believe that this is the beginning of a long-term trend that will greatly benefit Byrna".