Materialise NV (NASDAQ: MTLS) reported Q4 EPS of ($0.05), $0.06 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.01. Revenue for the quarter came in at $55.59 million versus the consensus estimate of $54.97 million.

Fourth Quarter 2020:

• Total revenue was 45,301 kEUR, a decrease of 10.7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, but an increase of 11.1% compared to the third quarter of 2020.
• Adjusted EBITDA was 7,370 kEUR; Adjusted EBITDA margin was 16.3%.
• Net loss was (2,118) kEUR, or (0.04) EUR per diluted share, compared to 1,246 kEUR, or 0.03 EUR per diluted share, for the same period last year; the net loss was impacted by non-cash impairment charges and revaluations totaling (3,836) kEUR.

Executive Chairman Peter Leys commented, “The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an incredibly challenging year for economies worldwide, our customers, our business and our employees. For the first time in Materialise’s 30-year history, revenues decreased year over year. While uncertainty remains, we are encouraged by the fact that our fourth-quarter-2020 revenues grew double digits sequentially and that, over the same period, our deferred revenues from software license and maintenance fees grew by 3.4 million EUR. In 2020, we increased our R&D expenses by 7.1% compared to last year, in spite of the COVID-19 related decline of our revenues, and still posted a healthy Adjusted Ebitda of 20.4 million EUR. We closed 2020 with cash and cash equivalents on our balance sheet of over 111 million EUR, a decrease of 17 million EUR compared to year-end 2019, caused mainly by our investments in 2020 in our strategic eyewear-related collaboration with Ditto, Inc and our acquisition of RS Scan to bolster our footwear initiative. In spite of the pandemic headwinds, we believe our continued R&D efforts and strategic investments position us well to expand our existing business and capture new growth opportunities as our company enters its fourth decade and the additive manufacturing market continues to develop.”

2021 Guidance

Mr. Leys concluded, “Although our fourth-quarter-2020 results and the customer feedback we have been receiving to date in 2021 are encouraging, our outlook is currently not sufficiently mature and is too diverse across our various segments and regions for us to provide quantitative guidance for our consolidated full-year-2021 performance. We do believe we have somewhat more visibility in the shorter term. In the first quarter of 2021, we currently expect both our Software and Medical segments will continue to recover steadily, with the potential of posting revenues that come close to their levels in the pre-pandemic first quarter of 2020. We do not expect our Manufacturing segment to recover to the same extent and at the same pace over that period. As a result, we believe that our consolidated revenues in the first quarter of 2021 will be 5% to 10% lower than our revenues in the same period of 2020. Based on the information we currently have, we believe that in the subsequent quarters of this year, as the COVID-19 crisis subsides, the entire group, including our Manufacturing segment, will perform well and grow sequentially. In line with our strategy we will continue to invest in our R&D programs and internal infrastructure, which will weigh on our overall results in 2021.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Materialise NV (MTLS) click here.