Materialise (Nasdaq: MTLS) has reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2024.While its medical segment saw strong growth, other areas struggled, leading to a 35% drop in its stock price following the earnings release on February 20, 2025.For the last quarter of 2024, Materialise posted revenue of €65.7 million ($68.7 million), a slight 0.6% increase compared to the same quarter in 2023.
The company’s medical segment was the big highlight, growing by 14.3% to €31.8 million ($33.3 million), pointing to strong demand for personalized medical solutions and increased adoption of its software.However, the brand’s software revenue declined by 1.1% to €11 million ($11.5 million), and manufacturing revenue dropped 13.3% to €22.7 million ($23.7 million).Despite revenue growth, profitability remains a concern.
Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) for the fourth quarter was €4.31 million ($4.5 million), a sharp drop from €8.47 million ($8.9 million) in the same period in 2023.The company’s adjusted EBIT fell into negative territory at €1.2 million ($1.3 million), compared to a positive €3.2 million ($3.3 million) in the same quarter last year.However, Materialise still registered a net profit of €2.9 million ($3 million) for the quarter, significantly improving from the net loss of €540,000 ($564,000) the year before.
This was mainly due to a favorable foreign exchange gain that helped offset some operational challenges.During an earning call with investors, CEO Brigitte de Vet-Veithen commented: “While making progress in our focus segments, we have also seen headwinds in the traditional business segments such as prototyping and casting of combustion engines for the automotive sector, accelerated by an increasingly unfavorable macroeconomic industrial environment in Europe and the general softness of the automotive sector in the fourth quarter.To adjust to this reality, we have taken action in the fourth quarter and implemented a restructuring in our 3D printing manufacturing activities to reduce our cost base in 2025.” Materialise CEO Brigitte de Vet-Veithen at Additive Manufacturing Strategies 2024.
Image courtesy of 3DPrint.com.A Year of Stability and Restructuring Looking at the full year, Materialise reported a total revenue of €266.8 million ($279 million), up 4.2% from 2023.The medical segment once again led the way with 14.8% annual growth.
Meanwhile, the software segment remained flat, declining by 1.2% to €43.9 million ($45.9 million), while manufacturing dropped by 3.4% to €106.5 million ($111.4 million).Despite the challenging environment, Materialise recorded a net profit of €13.4 million ($14 million) in 2024, nearly doubling the previous year’s €6.7 million ($7 million).Operational cash flow surged by 56% to €31.5 million ($33 million), providing the company with more financial flexibility.
However, profitability margins remained under pressure, with the adjusted EBITDA margin slipping from 12.3% in 2023 to 11.8% in 2024.Following the earnings release on February 20, 2025, Materialise’s stock price dropped by 35% to close at $5.96, a huge decline from the day before ($8.97).As of February 21, the stock remains volatile, trading at $5.95.
In 2024, Materialise’s stock had reached a high of $9.69 and a low of $4.70.Notably, the all-time high was $80.62 on February 9, 2021, and the all-time low was $4.72 on July 3, 2024. The drop in Materialise’s stock price suggests investors reacted negatively to several key data points.
Primarily, Materialise’s manufacturing segment, which is tied to Europe’s industrial sector, saw Q4 revenue decline 13.3%, with a negative adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.2%, as the company acknowledged ongoing macroeconomic headwinds.The company also cited other factors that weighed on earnings, like higher R&D expenses, restructuring costs, and integration of FEops, a Belgian firm specializing in AI-driven cardiovascular simulation software that Materialise acquired in Q3 2024 to enhance its personalized medical solutions.CEO’s Take on the Results CEO de Vet-Veithen pointed out that when the third quarter results for 2024 came out, “we already indicated to be very cautious around the fourth quarter results to be expected.
In particular, in the manufacturing segment as we were expecting the move to our new plant to reduce the operational capacity.The industrial climate was already very cautious at that point in time.However, in the fourth quarter, we saw that climate accelerated, particularly in Europe.
And that is what you see now reflected in our fourth quarter results and the 2025 guidance.” These headwinds, in addition to the planned reduced operational capacity at ACTech—Materialise’s Germany-based subsidiary specializing in rapid prototyping and small-batch production of metal castings—due to the opening of a new ACTech plant, led to a difficult fourth quarter, said the executive.Materialise appears to be in a transition phase.The company is shifting its software business to a subscription-based model, which should lead to more predictable revenue over time.
Meanwhile, medical remains a strong growth driver.However, manufacturing’s struggles and rising costs are key risks.For 2025, Materialise expects its revenue to grow to between €270 million ($282 million) and €285 million ($298 million).
However, its adjusted EBIT is expected to drop between €6 million ($6.3 million) and €10 million ($10.5 million), down from €9.7 million in 2024.Looking ahead, Materialise says it remains committed to expanding its medical and software businesses while implementing cost controls in manufacturing and corporate support departments.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
