“A new initiative we expect to introduce in the second quarter will significantly reduce the manufacturing cost of our most-affordable 3D printers. This revolutionary development is a result of significant investments we have made over the past three years. Most important, this development should help us sustain a favorable margin profile on our most-affordable systems as we become more aggressive with our programs to drive growth.
“We observed new developments in our collaboration with HP during the fourth quarter, as they added three new countries to their distribution network in Europe. In addition, we were pleased to see sales of our HP-branded 3D printers grow by 15% during the fourth quarter over last year, outpacing the growth of our Stratasys-brand 3D printers in non-HP countries.
“We continue to believe HP could be the ideal partner for worldwide distribution of our 3D printers. However, the full potential and ultimate long-term success of our collaboration with HP will require sales and marketing programs that go beyond current commitments. Consequently, while we remain committed to the HP collaboration, we will continue to accelerate independent channel development strategies.
“Given the continued positive momentum within our Fortus business and new initiatives within 3D printing, we are optimistic as we begin 2012. This optimism is strengthened by our record backlog of system orders and a strong pipeline of new opportunities. We remain a healthy company with attractive growth opportunities on multiple fronts, and we look forward to a successful year,” Crump concluded.
Stratasys reiterated the following information regarding financial guidance for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012:
- Revenue guidance of $175 million to $190 million.
- Earnings guidance of $1.02 to $1.13 per share.
The estimated expenses related to employee stock options, as well as the amortization of intangibles related to our acquisition of Solidscape Inc., amount to a combined impact of approximately $0.15 per share for 2012.
Stratasys plans to hold a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year financial results on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
The investor conference call will be available via live webcast on the Stratasys Web site at www.stratasys.com under the "Investors" tab; or directly at the following web address: http://phoenix.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=61402&eventID=4705490.
To participate by telephone, the domestic dial-in number is 800-798-2864, and the international dial-in is 617-614-6206. The access code is 65942427. Investors are advised to dial into the call at least ten minutes prior to the call to register.
The webcast will be available for 90 days on the "Investors" page of the Stratasys Web site or by accessing the provided web address.
(Financial tables follow)
Stratasys Inc., Minneapolis, is a maker of additive-manufacturing machines for prototyping and producing plastic parts. The company markets under the brands uPrint and Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus Production 3D Printers. The company also operates RedEye On Demand, a digital-manufacturing service for prototypes and production parts. Stratasys manufactures 3D printers for Hewlett Packard, which it sells under the brand Designjet3D. In 2011, Stratasys acquired 3D printer maker Solidscape Inc. According to Wohlers Report 2011, Stratasys had a 41-percent market share in 2010, and was the unit market leader for the ninth consecutive year. Stratasys patented and owns the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM®) process. The process creates functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from any 3D CAD program, using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. The company holds more than 300 granted or pending additive-manufacturing patents globally. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, business and industrial equipment, education, architecture, and consumer-product industries. Online at: www.Stratasys.com
This release is also available on the Stratasys Web site at www.Stratasys.com.
Forward Looking Statements
All statements herein that are not historical facts or that include such
words as “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “estimates,” “vision,”
“could,” “potential,” “plan”, “intends”, “desires”, “assume” or
“believes” or similar words constitute forward-looking statements
covered by the safe harbor protection of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for the historical information
herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These include
statements regarding projected revenue and income in future quarters;
the size of the 3D printing market; our objectives for the marketing and
sale of our Dimension® and uPrint® 3D Printers;
our support removal systems; and our Fortus® 3D Production
Systems, particularly for use in direct digital manufacturing (DDM); the
demand for our proprietary consumables; the expansion of our paid parts
service; and our beliefs with respect to the growth in the demand for
our products. Other risks and uncertainties that may affect our business
include our ability to penetrate the 3D printing market; the success of
our distribution agreement with HP; our ability to achieve the growth
rates experienced in preceding quarters; our ability to introduce,
produce and market consumable materials, and the market acceptance of
these materials; the impact of competitive products and pricing; our
timely development of new products and materials and market acceptance
of those products and materials; the success of our recent R&D
initiative to expand the DDM capabilities of our core FDM technology;
and the success of our RedEyeOnDemand <
