Both 3D Systems and Stratasys have released their 2013 financials and it looks like it was a year of rapid growth while acquisitions and mergers seem to be paying off for both companies. Stratasys is enjoying stable growth thanks to its high profile mergers with Objet and MakerBot, while the aggressive and expensive acquisition of many untested 3D printing start-ups may have slightly reduced 3D Systems’ profits in the Fourth Quarter.
Stratasys ended the fourth quarter with $155.1 million in revenue — that’s more than a 60% increase on the previous year. Much of Stratasys’ rapid growth was due to wise mergers, giving it a much larger catalogue of successful printers and access to the US market that was already fond of the MakerBot 3D printers. 2013 also saw the introduction of the Objet500 Connex3 3D printer as well as three new versions of the MakerBot Replicator that make up the new generation.
3D Systems had a pretty impressive year too. For the full year they saw a revenue increase of 45% to a record $513.4 million and they saw their full year gross profit increase by 48%.
According to 3D Systems Avi Reichental they are pleased to report record revenue on robust professional and advanced manufacturing printers’ demand, increased materials’ growth rate and total unit sales that more than tripled last year’s units.
Rather than focusing on a slow and steady expansion of its services and offerings, 3D Systems continued its much publicised extensive shopping spree last year. According to Reichental, 3D Systems plans to double its revenue over the next few years and the late-quarter reduction in earnings reported was due to the focus on accelerating growth and expanding market share.
2013 was a great year for the 3D printing industry overall, and the impressive growth and expansion shown by the industry’s two largest companies bodes well for everyone. We’re sure in 2014 we will continue to see both companies aggressively expand their market share and industry presence.
