LEUVEN, Belgium — (BUSINESS WIRE) — February 24, 2017 — Materialise NV (NASDAQ: MTLS), a leading provider of additive manufacturing software and of sophisticated 3D printing services, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2016.

Highlights – Fourth Quarter 2016

• Total revenue increased 12.3% from the fourth quarter of 2015 to 31,477 kEUR, with increases in all three business segments.
• Total deferred revenue from annual software sales and maintenance contracts increased 3,663 kEUR from 13,136 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2015 to 16,799 kEUR.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 50% from 2,979 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2015 to 4,455 kEUR.
• Net profit was 620 kEUR, or 0.01 EUR per diluted share.

Executive Chairman Peter Leys commented, “In a challenging environment, Materialise had a good quarter, contributing to a strong year. Total revenues for the year increased 12% to 114,477 kEUR and Adjusted EBITDA grew 157% to 9,458 kEUR. Strategically, we also made substantial progress during 2016, entering into several partnerships that position us to benefit from the expected growth of additive manufacturing of end parts in general and, more specifically, from the potential growth of specific vertical markets. Operationally, all three of our segments enhanced the focus and effectiveness of their internal operations, contributing to our successful year.”

Fourth Quarter 2016 Results

Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 increased 12.3% to 31,477 kEUR compared to 28,032 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2015, with gains in all three of our segments, particularly Materialise Manufacturing. Adjusted EBITDA increased to 4,455 kEUR from 2,979 kEUR as a result of the combination of continued revenue growth (12.3%) and a significantly lower increase in operational expenses (3.6%) as compared to the same period in the prior year. The Adjusted EBITDA margin (Adjusted EBITDA divided by total revenue) in the fourth quarter was 14.2% compared to 10.6% in the fourth quarter of last year.

Revenue from our Materialise Software segment, which offers a proprietary software backbone that enables and enhances the functionality of 3D printers and 3D printing operations worldwide, increased 10.6% to 8,078 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2016 from 7,301 kEUR for the same quarter last year. Recurrent sales from annual and renewed licenses and maintenance fees grew 37.7% from the same period in the prior year. Segment EBITDA rose to 2,949 kEUR from 2,706 kEUR while the segment EBITDA margin was 36.5% compared to 37.1% in the prior-year period.

Revenue from our Materialise Medical segment, which offers a unique platform consisting of medical planning and design software, clinical engineering services and patient specific devices, increased 5.1% to 10,061 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to 9,570 kEUR for the same period in 2015. Compared to the same quarter in 2015, sales of our medical software grew 29.8%, and direct sales of complex surgery solutions grew 82.9%. Segment EBITDA was 656 kEUR compared to 747 kEUR while the segment EBITDA margin decreased to 6.5% from 7.8% in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Revenue from our Materialise Manufacturing segment, which offers an integrated suite of 3D printing and engineering services to industrial and commercial customers, increased 19.4% to 13,326 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2016 from 11,161 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2015. End part manufacturing sales increased 26.4% compared to the last quarter in 2015. Segment EBITDA rose to 1,438 kEUR from 1,033 kEUR while the segment EBITDA margin increased to 10.8% from 9.3% for the 2015 quarter. These numbers include the results of i.materialise and RapidFit, whose activities were fully integrated into the Materialise Manufacturing business lines during the fourth quarter in order to create additional synergies.

Gross profit was 18,619 kEUR, or 59.2% of total revenue, for the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to 16,576 kEUR, or 59.1% of total revenue, for the fourth quarter of 2015.

Research and development (“R&D”), sales and marketing (“S&M”) and general and administrative (“G&A”) expenses increased, in the aggregate, 3.6% to 18,483 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2016 from 17,849 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2015. R&D expenses decreased from 4,742 kEUR to 4,161 kEUR while S&M expenses increased slightly from 9,340 kEUR to 9,506 kEUR. G&A expenses increased from 3,767 kEUR to 4,816 kEUR. As in the first three quarters of 2016, these changes compared to last year primarily reflected the managerial structure and support we have implemented within our S&M and R&D groups to support their significant growth since our initial public offering (“IPO”). A number of employees with mixed roles within these groups have evolved into more managerial/administrative roles, and their cost as well as certain other expenses are now categorized into G&A.

Net other operating income decreased by 426 kEUR to 1,779 kEUR compared to 2,205 kEUR for the fourth quarter of 2015. Net other operating income consists primarily of withholding tax exemptions for qualifying researchers, development grants, partial funding of R&D projects and currency exchange results on purchase and sales transactions.