3D Printing Financials: voxeljet Stock Moves to NASDAQ After Revenue Losses

One of Germany’s largest 3D printer manufacturers and service providers, voxeljet announced it was moving its shares from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to the NASDAQ after the stock turned volatile following the company’s anticipated quarterly loss report. The move comes amid a bleak overview as voxeljet reported a sharp decline in total revenues for the second quarter of 2020, down 22.5% year to year. So far, the first half of the year has seen systems and services revenues drop, and with the coronavirus raging on, the company faces a tough scenario ahead.

Shares of the 3D printing company have fallen 48% this year, closing at $5.36 on August 22, down from $10.30 at the beginning of the year. The stock seemed to be gradually recovering after hitting an all-time low on March 20 – just days after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. However, prior to the earnings report announcement, voxeljet stock began dropping, and just after the company reported Q2 results, the shares went volatile, rising as much as 345%, and then down 7% to $6.03.

voxeljet’s shares are expected to begin trading as a NASDAQ-listed security at market open on August 31, 2020, with the company’s CEO, Ingo Ederer, commenting that “NASDAQ is home to many of the world’s best technology companies, and voxeljet is excited about the opportunity to join NASDAQ. We believe that the move to NASDAQ will provide cost efficiencies and allow us to continue to deliver long-term value to shareholders. I want to thank the NYSE for its valued partnership over the years.”

Since 2000, only 53 firms switched their stock listing location from the NYSE to NASDAQ. Although the move might seem like a step down for investors, experts suggest that this might not entirely be the case. In fact, historically, the move to NASDAQ was found to increase trading prices, improve visibility, and even attract more liquidity providers in the long term, proving it might not all be bad news for voxeljet.

This sand core is one example of the size voxeljet’s VX4000 can print. (Image courtesy of voxeljet)⠀⠀⠀⠀

Overall, the revenues for the first half of the year also decreased by 26.5% to €7.8 million compared to €10.6 million in the same period of last year. As with many companies’ Q2 2020 earnings reports, voxeljet also announced that the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on their finances. Especially as the demand for both 3D printers and 3D printing services has gone down as many clients reduced their production activities, demand for consumables, and postponed large investments. Yet voxeljet management also recognized that the new earnings report is part of a continuous downward streak for the company, which has experienced net losses during the full year 2019, 2018, and 2017, amounting to a €39.2 million loss.

“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 since February until today,” disclosed Ederer. “In June, we successfully improved our cash position by expanding our partnership with the European Investment Bank. 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. We are making progress in our project with a leading German car maker for additive series production and received the order for an additional VJET X high-speed 3D printer last week.”

The company said that despite the ongoing losses, reduced cash flow, cash facilities, and other negative financial conditions, it expects to improve liquidity, particularly from a series of restructuring activities at the company’s UK and German units that will help reduce overall costs and improve gross profit margins. The restructuring of the voxeljet UK facility, which included consolidating 3D printing to serve all customers in Europe from the German service center has already been finished, while a new restructuring program at the German entity that began during the fourth quarter of 2019 is still ongoing. This included a reduction in headcount, mainly in the systems segment, which the company claimed will help streamline its operations, optimize efficiency, and provide further cost reductions.

Although voxeljet did not go into much detail about the layoffs in the earnings report, during the conference call slide presentation, it was visible that between 2019 and 2020 voxeljet had to cut a total of 40 jobs, that is,10 employees from the UK facility and 30 in Germany, leading to €2 million in savings. This was part of its Structural efficiency program: Essentials2020+ which focuses on sales; the completion of the VJET X (latest 3D printer for serial production of complex sand cores), and VX1000HSS (a high-performance 3D printing system for polymers). The full profit and loss effect from this program is expected to impact from the fourth quarter of 2020 onwards.

voxeljet’s industrial 3D printing system VX1000 HSS available for delivery 2021. (Image courtesy of voxeljet)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

As voxeljet clients heavily reduced production activities, the demand for consumables and spare parts decreased. Additionally, the company’s ability to perform service and maintenance visits due to shutdowns and restrictions caused by the COVID-19 situation was limited. Despite the pandemic’s negative impact, voxeljet reaffirmed its outlook for the full-year with revenues between €26 million and €30 million, and a gross margin of over 40%.

The company brought in €3.2 million of 3D printing systems revenue over the past six months. That was down from Q2 2019’s €4.5 million. The Company sold two new and one used and refurbished 3D printer during the first six months of 2020, compared to four new and one used and refurbished 3D printer in the prior-year period. The decrease in revenues from the systems segment was due to lower revenues from the sale of 3D printers, but also due to declines from the challenging global environment caused by the ongoing pandemic. The company claimed the situation significantly limited its ability to perform installations of 3D printers as well as to offer service visits, leaving them unable to fulfill any scheduled transactions. They also experienced lower demand for consumables and spare parts, as clients were forced to reduce their production activities.

voxeljet’s VX4000 3D sand printer in action, with a build envelope of 4x2x1 meters. (Image courtesy of voxeljet)

New outbreaks of the Coronavirus continue to cast a strong shadow on demand for both 3D printing machines and services. The company expects the demand for 3D printers may continue to abate, increasing the risk and likelihood of lower cash inflows. The uncertainties to generate sufficient cash flow to meet obligations and sustain operations casts substantial doubt on voxeljet’s future. Even if COVID-19 strict lockdown measures and restrictions are lifted worldwide, voxeljet already carries the burden of revenue losses during 2019 and previous years. Nonetheless, commercialization of its new large high-speed sintering printer for serious production of functional plastic components, the VX1000 HSS, expected to start full commercialization at the beginning of 2021, as well as sales of its new VJET X, and long term relationships with global industry leaders, like BMW, Ford, and Nike, could help drive growth and sales for the company in the next six months.