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Voxeljet (VJET) Jumps 5% Post Q4 Results, Guidance Stable
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Voxeljet AG came up with yet another colossal miss in its recently reported fourth-quarter 2016 results. This marks the company's sixth consecutive quarter of lagging earnings estimates.
Despite that, shares of the industrial 3D printing systems solutions provider rallied 5% (including after hours trading) to close at $2.85 at the end of the regular trading session on Thursday. It appears that Voxeljets’ affirmation of full-year 2016 guidance may have reinstated investors' confidence in the stock, regardless of the trying times and its questionable performance.
Let’s delve into some details of the company’s fourth-quarter results:
Q4 Results
Voxeljet reported fourth-quarter 2016 loss of €0.16 (17 cents) per American Depositary Share, far wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 5 cents. Also, the figure was wider than the year-ago loss of €0.13. The deterioration stemmed from arise in research & development expenses, administrative expenses and poor top-line performance.
For full-year 2016, the company’s loss came in at €0.61 (64 cents) per ADS, worse than the loss of €0.52 recorded a year ago.
Revenues for the fourth quarter plunged 24.1% to €6.3 million ($6.7 million) from the year-ago tally of € 8.3 million. Also, revenues fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7 million. Dismal sales in both the company’s segments, namely, Systems and Services, proved to be a drag. While Systems revenues were down 30.7% to €2.3 million ($2.5 million) on a year-over-year basis, Services revenues declined 19.7% to €3.9 million ($4.2 million). For full-year 2016, revenues totaled € 22.3 million ($ 23.5 million), down 7.2% from the year-ago period.
Concurrent with the earnings release, Voxeljet reiterated its full-year 2017 guidance. The company expects revenues in the range of €26,000 and €28,000. In addition, gross margin is expected to be north of 40%. Additionally, 2017 EBITDA is expected to range from neutral to positive. For the first quarter of 2017, the company expects revenues in the range of €4,250 to €4,750.
As per its surprise history, the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company delivered an average negative earnings surprise of 99.6% over the trailing four quarters. Even investors punished the company’s shares lately. In the last six months, the company’s stock lost 39.1% in stark contrast to the Zacks classified Computer Peripheral Equipment industry’s average gain of 11.4%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
What About the Peers?
Unlike Voxeljet, most of its peers—3D Systems Corporation (DDD - Free Report) , Stratasys Ltd. (SSYS - Free Report) and HP Inc. (HPQ - Free Report) —have fared much better in recent times. Stratasys has not missed estimates in over eight quarters and HP has not missed estimates for five straight quarters. Also, 3D Systems posted its third consecutive earnings beat in the fourth quarter of 2016.
However, it is fair to say that the 3D Systems industry has its own share of troubles. For 2016, revenues of the two largest players of the industry—Stratasys and 3D Systems—were down 3.4% and 5%, respectively, from 2015. The industry has been battling a widespread decline in demand for enterprise 3D printers over the past two years. Other headwinds, including economic slowdown, inflation, currency fluctuations and commodity prices vagaries, have also marred the performance of most players in the industry.
Voxeljet, in particular, has been suffering from delayed customer adoption rates, which, in turn, has led to a decline of order backlogs. Moreover, depressed oil prices are causing investment deferrals by clients, thus affecting Voxeljet’s oil & gas extraction equipment business. Also, some of the company’s key customers are facing supply chain redesign issues which are further delaying investments, adding to its woes.
What Now?
Despite formidable challenges, growth prospects of 3D printing companies have been well documented. 3D technology has the potential to revolutionize manufacturing and improve commercial space. According to the latest report from research firm Markets and Markets, the 3D Systems market is expected to grow at a rate of 28.5% to $30.19 billion by 2022.
Various companies, ranging from hospital managers to car manufacturers, are now opting for varied 3D solutions to address simple make-to-stock orders, as well as complex, engineer-to-order production strategies. Sectors like automotive, consumer products, government and defense, industrial/business machines, education research, and others (arts and architecture) are expected to raise demand for 3D printing products.
The industry is slowly shifting from developing prototypes to venturing into production. Demand for improved efficiency, production of complex parts and government investments in 3D printing projects are expected to stoke market growth. In order to make the most of changing times, key players are focusing on integrating the technology, which is still in its nascent stage, into the mainstream manufacturing supply chain.
Currently, most of the major players are scouting for strategic partnerships, rolling out innovative products and considering major internal shakeups to make the business model more profitable.
To turn its fortunes around, Voxeljet has been keeping busy with capacity expansion and major restructuring efforts to generate meaningful cost savings. The company’s large scale service centers across the globe, including the recently opened subsidiaries in China and India, are expected to boost growth.
It will be interesting to see whether the company can stage a comeback in 2017 on the back of these concerted efforts.
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Voxeljet (VJET) Jumps 5% Post Q4 Results, Guidance Stable
Voxeljet AG came up with yet another colossal miss in its recently reported fourth-quarter 2016 results. This marks the company's sixth consecutive quarter of lagging earnings estimates.
Despite that, shares of the industrial 3D printing systems solutions provider rallied 5% (including after hours trading) to close at $2.85 at the end of the regular trading session on Thursday. It appears that Voxeljets’ affirmation of full-year 2016 guidance may have reinstated investors' confidence in the stock, regardless of the trying times and its questionable performance.
Let’s delve into some details of the company’s fourth-quarter results:
Q4 Results
Voxeljet reported fourth-quarter 2016 loss of €0.16 (17 cents) per American Depositary Share, far wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 5 cents. Also, the figure was wider than the year-ago loss of €0.13. The deterioration stemmed from arise in research & development expenses, administrative expenses and poor top-line performance.
For full-year 2016, the company’s loss came in at €0.61 (64 cents) per ADS, worse than the loss of €0.52 recorded a year ago.
Revenues for the fourth quarter plunged 24.1% to €6.3 million ($6.7 million) from the year-ago tally of € 8.3 million. Also, revenues fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7 million. Dismal sales in both the company’s segments, namely, Systems and Services, proved to be a drag. While Systems revenues were down 30.7% to €2.3 million ($2.5 million) on a year-over-year basis, Services revenues declined 19.7% to €3.9 million ($4.2 million). For full-year 2016, revenues totaled € 22.3 million ($ 23.5 million), down 7.2% from the year-ago period.
Concurrent with the earnings release, Voxeljet reiterated its full-year 2017 guidance. The company expects revenues in the range of €26,000 and €28,000. In addition, gross margin is expected to be north of 40%. Additionally, 2017 EBITDA is expected to range from neutral to positive. For the first quarter of 2017, the company expects revenues in the range of €4,250 to €4,750.
As per its surprise history, the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company delivered an average negative earnings surprise of 99.6% over the trailing four quarters. Even investors punished the company’s shares lately. In the last six months, the company’s stock lost 39.1% in stark contrast to the Zacks classified Computer Peripheral Equipment industry’s average gain of 11.4%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
What About the Peers?
Unlike Voxeljet, most of its peers—3D Systems Corporation (DDD - Free Report) , Stratasys Ltd. (SSYS - Free Report) and HP Inc. (HPQ - Free Report) —have fared much better in recent times. Stratasys has not missed estimates in over eight quarters and HP has not missed estimates for five straight quarters. Also, 3D Systems posted its third consecutive earnings beat in the fourth quarter of 2016.
However, it is fair to say that the 3D Systems industry has its own share of troubles. For 2016, revenues of the two largest players of the industry—Stratasys and 3D Systems—were down 3.4% and 5%, respectively, from 2015. The industry has been battling a widespread decline in demand for enterprise 3D printers over the past two years. Other headwinds, including economic slowdown, inflation, currency fluctuations and commodity prices vagaries, have also marred the performance of most players in the industry.
Voxeljet, in particular, has been suffering from delayed customer adoption rates, which, in turn, has led to a decline of order backlogs. Moreover, depressed oil prices are causing investment deferrals by clients, thus affecting Voxeljet’s oil & gas extraction equipment business. Also, some of the company’s key customers are facing supply chain redesign issues which are further delaying investments, adding to its woes.
What Now?
Despite formidable challenges, growth prospects of 3D printing companies have been well documented. 3D technology has the potential to revolutionize manufacturing and improve commercial space. According to the latest report from research firm Markets and Markets, the 3D Systems market is expected to grow at a rate of 28.5% to $30.19 billion by 2022.
Various companies, ranging from hospital managers to car manufacturers, are now opting for varied 3D solutions to address simple make-to-stock orders, as well as complex, engineer-to-order production strategies. Sectors like automotive, consumer products, government and defense, industrial/business machines, education research, and others (arts and architecture) are expected to raise demand for 3D printing products.
The industry is slowly shifting from developing prototypes to venturing into production. Demand for improved efficiency, production of complex parts and government investments in 3D printing projects are expected to stoke market growth. In order to make the most of changing times, key players are focusing on integrating the technology, which is still in its nascent stage, into the mainstream manufacturing supply chain.
Currently, most of the major players are scouting for strategic partnerships, rolling out innovative products and considering major internal shakeups to make the business model more profitable.
To turn its fortunes around, Voxeljet has been keeping busy with capacity expansion and major restructuring efforts to generate meaningful cost savings. The company’s large scale service centers across the globe, including the recently opened subsidiaries in China and India, are expected to boost growth.
It will be interesting to see whether the company can stage a comeback in 2017 on the back of these concerted efforts.
Zacks’ Best Private Investment Ideas
In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time?
Our experts cover all kinds of trades… from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >>