Business

Materialise reports increased revenue from 3D printing with $121 million for 2016

Belgium’s 3D printing and software company Materialise (NASDAQ:MTLS) has reported revenue of $121.4  million for their most recent financial year of 2016. The company trades as an ADR on the U.S. NASQDAQ stock exchange and has, “more than 25 years of 3D printing experience into a range of software solutions and 3D printing services.”

Total revenue at Materialise for 2016 increased by 12.2%, resulting in gross profit of $71.8 million. However the company’s net loss widened with full year losses of $3.18 million compared to $3.03 million for 2015.

Materialise 3-matic demo box. Photo by Michael Petch.
Materialise 3-matic demo box. Photo by Michael Petch.

Materialise manufacturing segment reports rapid growth

Revenue comes from 3 segments Software, Medical and Manufacturing. Software revenue increased by 10.6% for the, “backbone that enables and enhances the functionality of 3D printers and 3D printing operations worldwide.” In the medical segment revenues were up 5.1% for medical planning and design software, clinical engineering services and patient specific devices. While Materialise Manufacturing reported final quarter growth of 19.4%.

The manufacturing segment results include i.materialise and RapidFit, “whose activities were fully integrated into the Materialise Manufacturing business lines during the fourth quarter in order to create additional synergies.”

Materialise Hoya partnership. Photo by Michael Petch
Materialise Hoya partnership. Photo by Michael Petch

Executive Chairman Peter Lays explains that, “The additive manufacturing market continues to evolve, particularly in the direction of end part production, and we intend to continue positioning Materialise to benefit from this promising growth market in the coming years.” Lays continues,

Our strategic priorities for 2017 are to sustain our leadership position in software through continued innovation and strategic partnerships; to drive the next stage of growth in our medical division through our focus on the hospital market; to continue increasing our manufacturing of end parts; and to enable the development of additive manufacturing in specific vertical markets.

Major deal for 3D printing industry

During the Q3 2016 earnings call in November Materialise announced that revenue was likely to be at lower end of previous guidance, which today’s results confirm. Furthermore, the “major announcement” hinted at was later confirmed as the partnership with Siemens, a deal that will see Materialise software rolled out to the vast customer base of Siemens and was elaborated on Siemens during Formnext 2016.The partnership advances Materialise’s goal, “to form the backbone of the 3D printing industry.”

Helmut Zeyn of Siemens Digital Factory Division presenting at Materialise booth during Formnext with Trumpf exhibiting opposite. Photo by Michael Petch.
Helmut Zeyn of Siemens Digital Factory Division presenting at Materialise booth during Formnext with Trumpf exhibiting opposite. Photo by Michael Petch.

On today’s call later with investors it is expected that CEO Fried Vancraean and Executive Chairman Peter Leys will provide further details of the Materialise x-ray product. The x-ray knee guide had previously hit regulatory hurdles and the company recognizes that the product is unlikely to generate revenue for some time. However, during a previous call Peter Leys explained, “we’re fine tuning our x-ray knee guide for approval by the FDA” and “continuing discussions with potential partners. The ramping up of the product is more likely for end of 2017,” or possibly 2018.

Revenue guidance for 2017

Speaking ahead of this mornings call with investors Peter Lay gave an indication of expectations for the coming year,

We expect to report consolidated revenue between 128,000 – 134,000 kEUR [$136 – $142 million] and Adjusted EBITDA between 10,500 – 13,500 kEUR [$11 – $14.3 million]. As the seasonality of our Materialise Manufacturing segment and our software businesses are expected to combine with the effects of the ramp up of the partnerships we entered into in the past months, we expect our financial results to be particularly strong in the third quarter and even stronger in the fourth quarter. We expect the amount of deferred revenue that Materialise generates from annual licenses and maintenance in 2017 to increase by an amount between 4,000 – 5,000 kEUR [$4.24 – $5.3 million].

3D Printing Industry will bring you more news as earnings season continues. We’ve already reported on financial results from HP, who recognized their first income from 3D printing, and Groupe Gorge.

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Materialise statement of income FY2016.
Materialise statement of income FY2016.
Materialise consolidated income statement FY 2016.
Materialise consolidated income statement FY 2016.

Featured image shows a 3D print created using Materialise Magics 3D Print Suite. Photo by Michael Petch.