U.S. firearms maker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp's quarterly profit more than doubled and topped estimates, as demand for its handguns and tactical rifles remained strong.

For the fourth quarter ended April 30, the Springfield, Massachusetts-based company posted a net profit of $7.4 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with $3.3 million, or 8 cents a share, last year.

Smith & Wesson, which rivals with Ruger and Taurus for revolvers and Glock, Ruger and Springfield Armory for pistols, said its firearms backlog increased to $268 million by the end of April.

Net product sales rose 20 percent to $99.5 million.

Analysts on average were expecting the company earn 12 cents a share, excluding items, according to Reuters Estimates.

Shares of the 157-year old company were slightly up at 5.84 in trading after the bell. The stock closed at $5.75 Monday on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Vidya Lakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)

Manufacturing