If you are an investor, and have been following the various stocks from 3D printer manufacturers, then you know that the last couple of quarters have been quite unsettling. Although we are continuing to see very impressive growth within the industry, shares may have gotten a bit ahead of themselves, and several of the major players within the industry have struggled to meet expections on the Street.
3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) has probably fared the worse, out of the recent declines, after providing an earnings warning to the market on October 22nd, reducing their guidance for third quarter Non-GAAP EPS to between $0.16 and $0.19, on top of lowering their full year’s EPS as well.
Well, today was D-day with investors eagerly waiting to see if 3D Systems would surprise the market or continue their slide. In the early going, it appears to be a positive report for the market, with 3D Systems reporting a Non-GAAP EPS of 
$0.18. With this report, they have topped analyst’s expectations by $0.01 on the bottom line.
“We are pleased that strengthening demand led to a 57% organic increase in unit sales of our design and manufacturing printers, but are disappointed that we failed to fully capitalize on the robust demand for our direct metal and consumer products,” said Avi Reichental, 3D Systems’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “Despite our efforts, we were not able to deliver these direct metal and consumer products as soon as we anticipated. Now that these availability gaps have been resolved, we expect our revenue growth rate to increase.”
Revenue for the company grew $31.2 million, or 23% of last year’s third quarter to $166.9 million, falling right in the middle of where the company guided back on October 22nd. The gross profit margin is also looking very positive for the company in several areas. Margins within the materials space rebounded to 73.1%, while their Quickparts division saw an expanded margin of 44.7%.
Other highlights from this report include a 121% year-over-year increase in healthcare related revenue, a 27% increase in design and manufacturing revenue, as well as a year-over-year increase of 18% within the materials space.
“While growing pains led to our revenue shortfall and pressured our gross profit margin, the fundamentals of our business are intact and our gross profit margins are poised to resume their expansion,” stated Reichental.
Shares of 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) are up close to 7% in early trading this morning. Lets hear your thoughts on today’s report in the 3D Systems 3rd Quarter 2o14 Earnings forum thread on 3DPB.com
