Quality assurance software developer Sigma Labs (SGLB) has announced that its quarterly revenue has more than doubled within its Q1 2021 financial results.
During the quarter, the exposure generated by the company’s expanded sales network and user base saw it gain additional orders, and increase its revenue from the $222,000 reported in Q1 2020 to $458,000. Over the same period, Sigma Labs also raised $14.8 million via two equity offerings, meaning that it’s now well-positioned to scale the sales of its flagship PrintRite3D platform moving forwards.
According to Mark K. Ruport, President and CEO of Sigma Labs, the firm’s continued revenue growth is not just down to the strong sales of PrintRite3D, but also “macro tailwinds” that “signal a return to growth in the coming months for the metal 3D printing industry.”
“We are increasingly seeing upticks of activity in the metal 3D printing market, resulting in several new contracts for initial systems,” said Ruport. “We believe that each new customer will open up opportunities for additional systems, as our customers expand and accelerate their additive manufacturing initiatives.”
“The first quarter of 2021 was marked by solid PrintRite3D unit sales and a strengthened balance sheet showing strong institutional investor interest.”
Sigma Labs’ Q1 2021 financials
Sigma Labs’ PrintRite3D in-process quality assurance (IPQA) platform, which is designed to provide metal 3D printer users with real-time monitoring capabilities, remains its primary source of revenue. On top of its pre-agreed PrintRite contracts, the firm was able to secure an additional order from Turkish 3D printer OEM Ermaksan during Q1, which contributed to a 106% revenue rise for the quarter.
Thanks to workflow enhancements, which reduced its cost of goods, Sigma Labs was also able to increase its gross profit over the same period to $330,000, a big improvement on the $23,000 loss reported in Q1 2020. Similarly, while the firm continues to operate at a net loss, it’s now making strides towards profitability, reducing its quarterly arrears from $1.6 million in Q1 2020 to just $0.7 million.
Compared to the company’s total revenue of $807,000 last year, its Q1 revenue figure of $458,000 also means that it’s well on-course for a record-breaking 2021. Given the firm’s lucrative ongoing contracts with DMG MORI and Lockheed Martin, Ruport says that Sigma Labs is now ready to scale its revenue growth more effectively, and reinforce its market position.
“Despite a very challenging year, we were able to execute our business plan and position ourselves for an exciting 2021,” explained Ruport. “Our Q1 results reinforce my belief that the company has entered a new phase, focused clearly on revenue growth and securing our position as a leader in quality assurance.”
| Sigma Labs Financials ($) | Q1 2020 | Q1 2021 | Variance ($) |
| Revenue | 222k | 458k | +236k |
| Cost of Revenue | 245k | 128k | -117k |
| Gross Profit | -23k | 330k | +308k |
| Net Loss | -1.6m | -650k | +0.95m |
A growing PrintRite portfolio
On an earnings call with analysts and investors, Ruport credited the company’s marketing team for delivering the leads needed to continue driving growth. In fact, having successfully validated its technology for the state-backed DARPA and 3D printing firm Materialise, Ruport emphasized that the firm is now focused on using existing partnerships to create new sales opportunities.
“We need to begin to turn some of our single order contracts into multiple system orders,” explained Ruport. “We need to increase the deal flow through existing partners, specifically DMG MORI, Additive Industries and Materialise, and I’m pleased to say that we’re seeing increased activity there as well.”
Elsewhere, Ruport revealed that Sigma Labs is planning to release PrintRite3D 7.0 at the upcoming AMUG Conference, which is due to take place from May 2-6 2021. Ruport teased that the update includes “groundbreaking” temperature monitoring and calibration features, new machine learning predictive models and a multi-laser metric monitoring system.
The upgrade is also set to provide PrintRite users with 3D visualization diagnostic tools, which are designed to provide them with rapid cross-section analysis capabilities. According to Ruport, the newly-optimized software should help the firm to “increase its competitive advantage,” and continue the “acceleration and validation” of its platform.
Sigma Labs’ “exciting” outlook
For the remainder of 2021, the Sigma Labs now intends to target new clientele in the space exploration and defense industries, as well as electric vehicle manufacturers. The firm says that its technology yields lighter, stronger and more durable mission-critical parts, making the PrintRite platform ideal for use within challenging aerospace and automotive applications.
Following the company’s two recent equity offerings, it also has $16.8 million in liquid capital with which to fund its growth ambitions in addition to expanding its sales and marketing efforts. According to Ruport, the cash will be used to “attack the market holistically,” by developing its portfolio, and expanding into the rapidly-recovering metal 3D printing market.
“The outlook for the AM industry in 2021 appears robust, with increasing demand predicted by Statista and others as 3D metal printing goes from prototyping to full industrialization,” concluded Ruport. “We believe we are poised to set the standard for quality assurance and capture a significant share of the market.”
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Featured image shows a set of 3D printed metal parts inspected by the PrintRite3D platform. Photo via Sigma Labs.
