Industrial 3D printer manufacturer voxeljet AG (NYSE:VJET) has reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2018. For the year ended December 31, 2018, headline revenue was reported at €26 million, up 12.2% on FY2017 which was €23.2 million. For Q4 2018, total revenue increased 40.4% to €8.6 million, from €6.1 million in Q4 2017.
Accordingly, Q4 2018 saw more voxeljet 3D printer sales than all other quarters combined. Dr. Ingo Ederer, CEO of voxeljet, comments, “We had a very strong fourth quarter both financially and strategically, implementing several long-term drivers. Our business continues to perform well, reaching 40% year-over-year growth during the fourth quarter.”
“We had significant new customer wins both domestically and internationally. In fact, we have sold more printers this quarter than in any quarter before.”
In the investor call reporting the results, voxeljet also confirmed that a prototype of its large VX1000-HSS (High Speed Sintering systems) is on track for a display at Formnext 2019, and the first VJET X order, for high-speed mass 3D printed production, is currently being assembled, with expected delivery in the coming months. Speaking of the VJET X, Dr. Ederer added, “Today I can say that, together with our partners, we believe we can become one of the world’s first companies to deliver a 3D printing solution for automotive serial-production. The 3D printing industry is at an inflection point and this achievement marks a key milestone in our mission.”
voxeljet revenue by segment
voxeljet is a manufacturer of high speed sintering (HSS) and binder jet 3D printers. In addition, the company provides these technologies as a service within Germany, the U.S., UK, China and India. In terms of revenue, these two capabilities are reported respectively under “Systems” and “Services.”
For the outstanding Q4 2018, in which voxeljet sold 10 new and 2 used machines, Systems revenue accounted for €5.2 million of the total revenue. Compared to the same period in 2017, this was an increase of 66.75% up from €3.1 million.
Services revenue in Q4 2018 was reported at €3.3 million, a 12.36% increase compared to €3 million in revenue for Q4 2017.
Total gross profit for Q4 2018 increased to €2.9 million from €2.6 million, and total gross profit margin decreased from 42.6% to 33.3%.
| Revenue | Q4 2018 | Q4 2017 | Variance € millions | % |
| Systems | 5,246.00 | 3,146.00 | 2,100 | 66.75% |
| Services | 3,328.00 | 2,962.00 | 366 | 12.36% |
| Total | 8,574.00 | 6,108.00 | 2,466 | 40.37% |
For the full year 2018, Systems revenue was reported at an increase of 6.19% to €12.2 million from €11.5 million for FY2017. In this respect, Services experienced the strongest revenue growth year-on-year, reporting €13.8 million for FY 2018 compared to $11.6 million in FY 2017.
| Revenue | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | Variance € millions | % |
| Systems | 12,248.00 | 11,534.00 | 714 | 6.19% |
| Services | 13,761.00 | 11,644.00 | 2,117 | 18.18% |
| Total | 26,009.00 | 23,178.00 | 2,831 | 12.21% |
voxeljet ends FY2018 will €7.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to €7.6 million at the end of FY2017. For Q4 2018 it has an order backlog for 3D printers of €3.4 million, an increase of 22.5% from Q4 2017’s backlog of €2.7 million.
The company made a net loss of €8.8 million for FY2018, compared to a net loss of €8.5 million in FY2017.
For the first quarter of 2019, voxeljet is expecting a revenue between €5 million and €5.5 million. This period will end 31 May 2019.
voxeljet’s automotive focus
As revealed by James Reeves, Managing Director at voxeljet UK, in August 2018, one of the projects voxeljet currently has under-wraps is the VJET X development. Built to be applied in automotive production lines, VJET X systems are reportedly ten times faster than any machines in voxeljet’s current offering, and made to be cost effective for the fabrication of up to 100 thousand parts.
In the latest update from the company, an unnamed German automotive OEM has been confirmed as the first customer of the VJET X. Two systems are due to be delivered to the company later this year. Public partners of voxeljet that fit this brief include BMW, Volkswagen and NextGenAM project partner DAIMLER.
Concluding FY2018’s financial earning, Dr. Ederer says, “We are thrilled with our momentum through the launch of VJET X and remain on the offense, identifying and attacking opportunities to elevate our game, build on our momentum with new product launches and ensure that we deliver sustainable, profitable, capital-efficient growth over the long term.”
voxeljet’s full financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2018 can be accessed online here.
voxeljet has been nominated for OEM of the Year in the 2019 3D Printing Industry Awards. Vote now to decide this year’s winners.
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Featured image shows a line of voxeljet VX1000 3D printers. Photo via voxeljet
