German 3D printer manufacturer voxeljet has announced a revenue decline of more than 20 percent in its Q2 2020 financial results.
For the three months ending June 30, 2020, voxeljet generated revenue of €3.9 million, a 22.5 percent reduction on the €5 million revenue reported in Q2 2019. The company had posted an 11 percent increase in revenue in its Q4 2019 results, but the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented any further growth during H1 2020.
Voxeljet’s revenue performance is comparable to that of other system manufacturers such as 3D Systems, Stratasys and ExOne, which each announced revenue declines in their Q2 financials.
In the days following the release of its Q2 2020 results, the company’s shares became increasingly volatile, rising by as much as 365 percent, before declining 7 percent. The company has since announced that it will be listed on the NASDAQ exchange rather than the NYSE from August 31 2020.
In an earnings call with analysts and investors, Dr. Ingo Ederer, CEO of voxeljet, said that the ongoing pandemic had put an end to the company’s promising start to Q2 2020. “Earlier this year, we received one of our largest individual Services orders for 3D printed parts from a supplier to a leading US electric car maker. Then COVID-19 came and we really felt the impact of that from February until today.”
“When we look ahead, we are encouraged by a positive sales trend during the last weeks and we are optimistic that this trend continues during the second half of 2020 and beyond,” added Ederer.
Voxeljet’s Q2 2020 financial results
Voxeljet leverages its high-speed sintering (HSS) and binder jet 3D printers to provide an on-demand manufacturing service within Germany, the U.S., UK, China, and India. The revenue gained by the company from its services is reported under two segments: Systems and Services.
The company’s Systems segment includes its revenue gained from system sales as well as selling spare parts, upgrades, maintenance contracts and other sales activities. In Q2 2020, voxeljet generated €1.8 million from its Systems business, a 12 percent decrease on the €2.1 million reported in Q2 2019.
Revenue gained from the company’s 3D printer sales was essentially flat, as it installed two systems in both Q2 2019 and 2020. As voxeljet’s clients reduced their spending to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm received less demand for its consumables and spare parts. The travel restrictions introduced by the ongoing pandemic have also prevented voxeljet engineers from making as many service and maintenance visits as in Q2 2019.
| Revenue (€) | |||
| Segment | Q2 2019 | Q2 2020 | Variance (%) |
| Systems | 2.1m | 1.8m | -12 |
| Services | 2.9m | 2m | -30 |
| Total | 3.9m | 5m | -22.5 |
Voxeljet’s Services segment focuses on revenue generated from the printing of on-demand parts for its customers. During Q2 2020, voxeljet reported Services revenue of €2 million, a 30 percent reduction on the €2.9 million generated in Q2 2019. According to the company, its American and German subsidiaries suffered from an acute decline in customer demand following the outbreak of COVID-19.
Additionally, voxeljet closed its UK-based service center as part of a broader restructuring in Q4 2019, removing one of its potential sources of revenue. Conversely, despite the pandemic restrictions enforced in China during H1 2020, the firm’s Chinese subsidiary reported revenue growth during Q2 2020. The minor revenue increase potentially indicates that the impact of COVID-19 on businesses is subsiding in certain areas of the world.
The voxeljet VJET X and VX 1000 3D printers
During the earnings call, Ederer focused primarily on the opportunities for revenue growth presented by new applications of the firm’s VJET X 3D printer. Voxeljet is already implementing a fully automated production line for a German carmaker, and the company expects the wider demand for its machines to recover in H2 2020.
“Some new automotive components are too complex, and you cannot make it with conventional casting,” explained Ederer. “With VJET X, it is something completely different. Because the VJET is very fast and all processes are fully automated, you can print several hundred thousand parts per year with just one production cell.”
“Going forward, we expect to benefit from the increased demand for solutions in additive series production. We expect to commercialize 3D production cells with multiple 3D printers each, and to sell large volume contracts for 3D printed parts,” added Ederer.
Voxeljet is launching its “Essentials2020+” program in Q3 2020, a project which aims to reduce the firm’s expenses, but also affects the evolution of its 3D printers. By focusing on the sales and development of its VJET X and VX1000 HSS systems, the company aims to save €3 million by Q1 2021. The upcoming VX1000 3D printer remains slated for a release in H1 2021, with beta testing due to begin in Q3 2020.
Despite the competition facing voxeljet’s new VX1000 system by rival SLS and FDM machines, Ederer expressed confidence that the firm’s HSS system would be successful. “HSS is a unique process. You see a similar type of process with HP, but they focus on a different market more of a consumer-oriented market with business machines and lower cost machines,” said Ederer.
“We are more on the professional side. Of course you could see SLS machines or laser sintering machines as competition, but they are not providing the size and speed of our HSS solution,” he added.
Voxeljet’s outlook for H2 2020
The company received considerable financial support during Q2 2020, which it needed to improve its cash flow amid falling customer demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Voxeljet gained €5 million in funding as part of a venture debt contract with the European Investment Bank in June 2020. In order to offset its losses within its U.S. business, voxeljet also applied for a grant of $325,000 under the U.S. Federal Paycheck Protection Program.
Over the second quarter, the firm has seen a slight recovery in demand from U.S-based clients, and it already has orders in place for rocket parts from a U.S. aerospace company. Voxeljet also sold another VJET X machine recently, and is currently brokering a deal with a global U.S. sports equipment company to sell a HSS system.
With its newly-received orders and the backlog generated by the company during Q1 2020, Ederer was positive that voxeljet would return to revenue growth during H2 2020. “When we look ahead, we are encouraged by our sales trend over the last weeks, and we are optimistic that this trend will continue into the second half of 2020. We are making progress in our project.”
On its revenue guidance, voxeljet expects its overall revenue for 2020 to be between €26 million and €30 million, with Q3 revenue between €6million and €8 million. As the company continues to develop its VX 1000 systems, it will maintain R&D spending at €5.75 million to €6.25 million.
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Featured image shows two voxeljet 1000 3D printers. Photo via voxeljet.
