For the third quarter of 2021, net sales were $178.2 million and diluted earnings were $1.98 per share.
For the comparable prior year period, net sales were $145.7 million and diluted earnings were $1.39 per share.
For the first nine months of 2021, net sales were $562.7 million and diluted earnings were $6.64 per share.
For the corresponding period in 2020, net sales were $399.6 million and diluted earnings were $3.31 per share.
Compared to the second quarter of 2021, profitability declined principally due to three factors: First, all of our firearms facilities took a very well-deserved shutdown week in July, which reduced the number of workdays in the quarter to 59 compared to 64 workdays in Q2.
During the first nine months of 2021, we generated $117 million of cash from operations.
We reinvested $15.6 million of that back into the company in the form of capital expenditures.
We estimate that 2021 capital expenditures will be approximately $20 million, predominantly related to new product development.
Our cash and short-term investments, which are invested in U.S. T-bills totaled $192.7 million.
Our current ratio was 3.8:1, and we had no debt.
Our stockholders' equity was $338.1 million, which equates to a book value of $19.21 per share, of which $10.95 per share was cash and short-term investments.
In the first nine months of 2021, we returned $45.2 million to our shareholders through the payment of dividends.
Our Board of Directors declared a $0.79 per share quarterly dividend for shareholders of record as of November 15, 2021, payable on November 30, 2021.
Upon receiving this $0.79 quarterly dividend, shareholders will have received $3.36 of dividends per share in 2021.
As a reminder, our quarterly dividend is approximately 40% of net income, and therefore, it varies quarter-to-quarter.
We've just begun to replenish the distributor and retail inventories that were largely depleted over the past 18 months, putting us in a great position as we head into the fourth quarter, which has traditionally been a period of strong demand.
The estimated unit sell-through of the company's products from the independent distributors to retailers increased 9% in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the prior-year period.
For the same period, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, background checks, as adjusted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, commonly referred to as NICS checks, decreased 11%.
The MAX-9 pistol and the Ruger LCP MAX pistol, which were both launched in 2021 remain in strong demand.
In the first nine months of 2021, new product sales represented $116 million or 22% of firearm sales compared to $88 million or 24% of firearm sales in the first nine months of 2020.
Since March of 2020, our workforce has been strengthened by 370 folks, an increase of just over 20%, and our quarterly unit production has increased by more than 160,000 units or 45% during that period.
A 20% increase in personnel yielding a 45% increase in production.
Despite the growth in production at the end of third quarter 2021, our finished goods inventories remained near historic lows and distributor inventories of Ruger products were 150,000 units lower than they were at the end of 2019, the last time inventories were at what we would consider normal or expected pre-COVID-19 levels.
In the third quarter, we added a 225,000 square foot facility in Mayodan, North Carolina, about 1.5 miles down the road from our original Mayodan building that we purchased in 2013.

Summary:
For the third quarter of 2021, net sales were $178.2 million and diluted earnings were $1.98 per share.