Gun maker Sturm Ruger details increased demand for firearms as COVID-19 spread in U.S.

Gun manufacturer Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc. shares rose in extended trading Wednesday after the company reported a spike in distributor sales to retailers amid increased demand for guns as COVID-19 spread across the world.

Sturm Ruger RGR, +1.60% Chief Executive Officer Christopher Killoy said the company saw a 37% spike in sales from distributors to retailers in the first quarter compared with a year ago. The gun maker reported first-quarter net income of $15.3 million, which amounts to 87 cents a share, compared with net income of $13 million, or 74 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose to $123.6 million from $114 million in the year-ago quarter.

The company does not have enough analyst coverage to form reliable consensus estimates, according to FactSet.

Background checks required to buy firearms administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation increased by just over 1 million in March compared with a year ago, to more than 3.74 million. April saw an increase of roughly 575,000, to more than 2.9 million checks, according to data collected by the FBI. As lockdown orders began to take force in March, there were multiple reports of long lines outside of gun shops in California and elsewhere amid coronavirus fears.