On May 9, 2020, German metal 3D printer manufacturer SLM Solutions recently announced its first quarter 2020 financial earnings.
Based on the strong order backlog at the end of 2019, total revenue for the first quarter of 2020 was 17.8 million euros. This result is more than double the company's first quarter 2019 revenue (7.3 million euros), an increase of 143% year-on-year. This number is also the best first-quarter revenue performance in SLM Solutions' history.
However, the order volume of SLM Solutions in the first quarter was still negatively affected.
Meddah Hadjar, CEO of SLM Solutions, said: "Our first quarter results once again proved that once the economic environment has normalized, we are taking the right steps towards the successful future of SLM."
SLM Solutions' financial results
SLM reported that its revenue is divided into two parts, namely the machine business and the after-sales business. Among them, the machine business includes SLM's selective laser 3D printers and accessory equipment, while the after-sales business includes services, spare parts, powder, training and machine installation income.
In the first quarter of 2020, the revenue of the machine business was 13.4 million euros, compared with 4 million euros in the first quarter of 2019. This figure means that the revenue of the department increased by 232.4% year-on-year.
From the after-sales business segment, SLM's revenue was 4.4 million euros, an increase of 32.8% year-on-year, compared with 3.3 million euros in the same period last year.
Hadjar was appointed chief executive officer of SLM Solutions in early 2019. He stated in the fiscal year 2019 financial report that SLM gained good momentum in the second half of 2019. The company explained that the company has made good progress in machine sales, which has greatly increased the order volume. The company's order backlog at the beginning of fiscal year 2020 was much better than last year, and it also successfully converted a large portion of new orders into revenue in the first quarter of 2020.
SLM received a total of 22 machines in the first quarter of 2020, compared with only 7 machines in the previous fiscal quarter. At the same time, the machines sold also include their large multi-laser machines, such as SLM 500. Therefore, its machine revenue accounted for 75.6% of total revenue, compared with 55.3% in the first quarter of 2019.