French industrial engineering and technology organization Groupe Gorgé has published its revenue for the first quarter of 2019. Consolidated revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was reported at €71 million, an increase of 4.3% on the same period in 2018, which was €68 million.
Of all three business segments reported by the group 3D Printing, which is handled by subsidiary Prodways Group, demonstrated the strongest year-on-year growth in this period. For Q1 2019, Prodways Group reported a consolidated revenue of €17.4 million, an increase of 28.9% on the same period in 2018, which was €13.5 million.
According to the company, “This momentum [in 3D Printing] is due to solid organic growth, particularly in sales of materials, software distribution and parts manufacturing, boosted by the contribution from acquisitions completed in 2018 and early 2019.”
Groupe Gorgé Q1 2019 revenue
Founded in 1990, Groupe Gorgé is a medium sized enterprise which has grown to incorporate multiple businesses. It is built of the provision of security and protection systems, such as fire prevention equipment for oil, gas and nuclear industries, and the implementation of automation and simulation for hostile enthronements, i.e. the military. Each of these segments is represented respectively by the company as Protection of High-Risk Installations and Smart Safety Systems.
Holding the largest portion of revenue, Protection of High-Risk Installations reported €32.6 million in Q1 2019. Compared to Q1 2018, this represented a 1.1% increase in revenue up from €32.3 milllion.
Smart Safety Systems revenue for Q1 2019 was reported at €21.2 million, decreasing 6.9% on the same period in 2018 which was €22.8 million.
| Revenue | Q1 2019 | Q1 2018 | Variance € millions | % |
| Smart Safety Systems | 21.2 | 22.8 | -1.6 | 6.9% |
| Protection of High-Risk Installations | 32.6 | 32.3 | 0.3 | 1.1% |
| 3D Printing | 17.4 | 13.5 | 3.9 | 28.9% |
| Structure and disposals | -0.2 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Total | 71.0 | 68.1 | 2.9 | 4.3% |
Groupe Gorgé’s backlog at the end of the period was €241.5 million, its highest ever level. Compared to the the end of Q1 2018 which was €217.4 million, Q1 2019 saw an 11.1% increase in backlog.
3D Printing growth driven by materials and software at Prodways
Breaking down the 3D Printing segment of Groupe Gorgé’s business, Prodways revenue is split into two lines: Systems and Products.
In Q1 2019, Systems revenue, which encapsulates machines sales, materials, and software distribution, accounted for €10.5 million, an increase of 35.2% on Q1 2018 which was €7.8 million. The increase, according to Groupe Gorgé was due in part to an “upturn in sales of materials and in software distribution.” This segment also includes the €1.8 million contribution of Solidscape, a company which was acquired by Prodways in 2018.
The Products division of Prodways, which includes on demand manufacturing services, reported a revenue of €7 million in Q1 2019, up 21.6% on Q1 2018 which was €5.8 million. The increase has been attributed in part to a growth in sales from the podiatry sector, which the group has been targeting with specialist products since 2017. The Products segment has yet to receive the full benefit from Prodways’ recent acquisition of Surdifuse L’Embout Français which, alongside its majority share in Interson-Protac, is poised to make the company a European leader in the manufacture of custom hearing aid tips.
| Revenue | Q1 2019 | Q1 2018 | Variance € millions | % |
| Systems | 10.5 | 7.8 | 2.7 | 34.6% |
| Products | 7.0 | 5.8 | 1.2 | 20.7% |
| Structure and disposals | -0.1 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Total | 17.4 | 13.5 | 3.9 | 28.9% |
3D Printing outlook for 2019
Outlining the outlook for 2019, Prodways Group has confirmed, “Within the present scope and excluding new external growth operations, the 3D Printing division is confirming its 2019 revenue growth target of at least 15%.”
In this view, the company expects the Systems business to be “especially pronounced” driven by the launch of the ceramic ProMaker V10, the ProMaker LD-20 for dental and the Solidscape DL, launched early 2019.
“In the Products business,” Prodways adds, “the Group continues to prepare for the digital transition of medical activities, which is expected to show rewards in the medium term.”
Prodways will also continue the development of its Rapid Additive Forging (RAF) metal 3D printing process, which recently confirmed the pre-sale of a second system expected for delivery later in the year.
The wider outlook for Groupe Gorgé on the whole, is that the organization “confirms its revenue growth target in excess of 5%.” The Smart Safety Systems business of the group is also in the process of supplying 12 mine hunters to the Belgian and Dutch navies. This contract is valued at €450 million and will be a 10 year program for the parties involved. The first 3 years of the program will be dedicated to the design of drones, which will equip the navies’ hunting vessels – 100 to each boat.
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Featured image shows a Groupe Gorgé graphic. Image via Groupe Gorgé
