Materialise Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
April 27, 2023

There are 7 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q1 2023 Materialise NV Financial Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question and answer advising that your hand is raised. And please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

Operator

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Harriet Feid of LHA. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today for Materialise's quarterly conference call. With us on the call are Fried Van Kram, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Materialise Peter Leys, Executive Chairman and Johan Albrecht, Chief Financial Officer. Today's call and webcast are being accompanied by a slide presentation that reviews Materialise's strategic, financial and operational performance for the Q1 of 2023. To access the slides, if you haven't already done so, please go to the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.materialise.com. The earnings release that was issued earlier today can also be found on that page.

Speaker 1

Before we get started, I'd like to remind you that management may make forward looking statements regarding the company's plans, expectations and Growth Prospects, among other things. These forward looking statements are subject to known and unknown uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed, including competitive dynamics and industry change. Any forward looking statements, including those related to the company's future results and activities, represent management's estimates as of today and should not be relied upon as representing their estimates as of any subsequent date. Management disclaims any duty to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect future events or changes in expectations. A more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties and other factors that could impact the company's future business or financial results can be found in the company's most recent annual report on Form 20F filed with the SEC.

Speaker 1

Finally, management will discuss certain non IFRS measures on today's call. A A reconciliation table is contained in the earnings release and also at the end of the slide presentation. With that introduction, I'd like to turn the call over to Peter Leys. Go ahead please, Peter.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Harriet, and thank you everyone for joining us today. You can find, as always, the agenda for our call on Slide 3. As a first item on our agenda, I will summarize the highlights of our financial results for the Q1 of this year. And then I will pass the floor to Fried, who will give you some more context about how continuous innovation and value adding applications is creating robust growth. After that, Johan will walk you through our Q1 numbers in more detail.

Speaker 2

Subsequently, I will come back to give you some brief observations about our current view on what the near term future will bring. When we've completed our prepared remarks, we'll be happy as always to respond to questions. And finally, after the Q and A session, Johan and Fried will briefly discuss the CFO change that we have announced earlier today. So Let's turn to slide number 4, which summarizes the highlights of our financial results. Materialise performed extremely well in the Q1 of this year.

Speaker 2

Total revenues increased more than 24% to almost €66,000,000 boosted by a 33% revenue growth at Materialise Medical and a 25% revenue increase at Materialise Manufacturing. Materialise Software also contributed to our consolidated Mainly because of scaling effects, but also because of the disciplined management of the impact of inflation And because of certain cost containment measures, our adjusted EBITDA increased by almost 90% to €10,300,000 While our R and D efforts during the quarter grew by 15% compared to last year's Q1, The temporary slowdown of certain projects during the period also contributed to the exceptional adjusted EBITDA growth. And with this introduction, I would now like to pass the floor to Fried. Fried? Thank you, Peter.

Speaker 2

Good morning or good afternoon to all of you listening to this call.

Speaker 3

We believe the results of Q1 2023 demonstrates very clearly the robust growth that Materialise can generate through its activities. As Peter indicated, the growth numbers in our segments range from good to outstanding, And we turn those numbers into profitable growth. Sometimes, as in the Q4 of 2022, We faced some headwinds, but robust growth also positions you to take advantage of some tailwinds. Solid management of our contracts yielded recurring revenue, but also made Inflationary increases weighed on our profitability in the second half of twenty twenty two. As the same contracts Allowed for price adjustments starting this year, it was one of a few elements that provided tailwinds in this quarter.

Speaker 3

Above all, the robust growth was generated by the consistent performance of our people. They work hard every day to bring their collective know how in support of our customers, If there is one segment that most demonstrated our robust growth potential this quarter, it was our Medical segment. Especially in the medical device verticals, we generated growth. While there are Already a solid baseline growth for more than a decade. This quarter, we could especially take advantage of the robustness of our systems as we experienced a combination of Favorable market conditions, including a huge number of patients needing elective surgery.

Speaker 3

At the same time, some competing solutions face technical or regulatory issues, which directed additional customers to our facilities. Thanks to the robustness of our solutions and the flexibility of our people, We could handle peak loads and deal with a high number of orders. We expect the high number During Q1, we also expanded our collaborations with medical device companies and announced a new partnership with Exactech for the product, Glenius. This is a 3 d printed, Personalized shoulder implant that takes advantage of artificial intelligence in the planning phase. Glenius is a robust solution for very complex and very severe revisions, The Glynius solution for shoulders has a scientifically proven track record approaching 10 years of exceptional outcome, Results that are similar to those of our AMASE implant for hips that is already 5 years longer on the market.

Speaker 3

Turning to Slide 6. In Q4 2022, our Software segment Absor costs related to the reorganization of several development teams to take advantage of the syndicated effects that last year's acquisitions could bring. In Q1 2023, we saw the positive effect of these actions On the segment's bottom line, more importantly, we are now beyond that phase and can gradually work on the renewed product portfolio that fits the co AM platform we have discussed in prior calls. We are launching Magic27 at Rapid in Chicago in just a few days. Magic27 has an even deeper integration into CoEM to anchor Materialise's leading position in 3 d printing prepress software.

Speaker 3

However, as the CoYAM platform is intended to empower our customers to control their entire additive manufacturing production lines, We are also launching a new application on Coriant. This is called Materialise Process Control. It enables manufacturers to introduce quality control using data gathered during the 3 d printing process. By analyzing and correlating layered data from the 3 d printing process, such as, for instance, 2 d images, Users can identify defective parts before they are sent to post processing and quality inspection. Those tasks account for 30% to 70% of a part's total manufacturing cost, Demonstrating the open nature of the CoEM platform, the tool is being launched in partnership with Phase 3d and Sigma Additive Solutions.

Speaker 3

Materialise Process Control Makes extensive use of artificial intelligence to help the use of and the mastering of The Additive Manufacturing Process at our customers. Moving now to Slide 7. Robust growth in our Manufacturing segment was driven by very good performance in both the segment Standard Additive Manufacturing services activity and assetech services activity. In past calls, I've mentioned the strong demand for engine and drivetrain components for new sustainable transport systems at ACTE. As the demand has been rising, we are continuing to prepare our new plant for production.

Speaker 3

We expect to open it in 2024. In parallel, We are seeing good growth in our certified production activity, aiming at small series equipment manufacturers. While most of this work is confidential, we are able to disclose some of the work we are doing for the company Satorius. Sartorius is a manufacturer of bioreactors for the life science industry and pharmaceutical production. Materialise has produced several 10,000 of components for Sastorius over the past few years.

Speaker 3

Those numbers are composed of many small series, Even some unique parts. Critical requirements for them include biocompatibility and traceability. Many of those components are used in sterile conditions. It is obvious that Working in a certified environment with strong AM process control is a must for a company that affects millions of people's lives. As these examples illustrate, robust growth is based We believe we can sustainably deliver for this innovation As we continue our R and D efforts, even in a difficult year such as 2022, And as Peter indicated before, in the Q1 of 'twenty three, we have again reported a 15% R and D increase, as we want to continue this robust growth in the following years.

Speaker 3

But extra R and D alone It's not enough to ensure robustness in a company. Today, I also want to highlight The importance of our staff services that ensure that Materialise has all the governance systems in place to be a reliable partner for our customers. Our governance and internal audit department ensures that our teams Materialise values quality management systems according to ISO 9,001. We deliver medical devices and software according to ISO 13,485 to ensure safe and effective products. For our collaboration with the aerospace industry, we have received EASA Part 21 gs and ISO 9,100 certification.

Speaker 3

In addition to ISO 9,001, Actech It's a D. N. V. Approved manufacturer for iron castings for ships and offshore products. And is EN 15,085 certified to produce parts for railroad vehicles?

Speaker 3

Our headquarters, asset and Polish facilities are ISO 14,000 certified, reflecting our environmental management ambitions to work sustainable. Our Medical segment is close to being certified according to ISO 27,000 on information security. We work within the framework of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, of in the U. S. And according to the European Union General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR in Europe.

Speaker 3

Providing an environment that is consistently in line with all those government systems, it provides our customers with assurance that AM Technology from Materialise is reliable and safe. Over to Johan.

Speaker 4

Thank you, Fried. I begin with a brief review of our consolidated revenue on Slide 8. Please note that unless otherwise stated, all comparisons in this call are against our results for the Q1 of 2022. Revenue grew in all three segments in total by 24.4 percent to €65,900,000 and excluded the positive €1,700,000 effect of deferred revenue. Our Software segment grew by 8%.

Speaker 4

Materialise Medical rose an outstanding 33% and revenue in manufacturing made a 25% leap. The strong result was realized through a combination of solid volume growth and price increases. Cross segment revenue from software products represented 29% of our total revenue. On slide 9, you can see that our adjusted EBITDA grew by 89% to 10,300 and €10,000 We benefited from scaling effects and improved efficiency gains, while we continued investing in research and Development. Slide 10 summarizes the results of our Materialise Software segment.

Speaker 4

Here, revenue grew 8.3 percent to €11,350,000 Nonrecurring revenue grew 9.8%. Recurring revenue, including the effect of OEM subscription fees, increased 7.5%. EBITDA was €2,427,000 compared to 1,932,000. Moving now to slide 11, you will see that Materialise Medical's revenue Grew by 32.5 percent, boosted by Medical Device Solutions revenue that grew 39%, driven by very strong performances in almost all of our business lines from direct and partner sales. The top line was further supported by a 20% revenue leap from software sales.

Speaker 4

Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €7348,000 Our EBITDA margin increased to 30.2% through a combination of scaling effects and top line price increases. Now Let's turn to Slide 12 for an overview view of the Q1 performance of our Materialise Manufacturing segment. Revenue grew 25 percent to €30,200,000 boosted by our Agtech business line that increased 49%. Our core manufacturing business lines also performed well with a solid revenue growth of 11%, driven by endpoint manufacturing solutions that grew 20%, while prototyping solutions grew 4%. The robust revenue growth was converted into an EBITDA of €3,200,000 an increase of €600,000 including adverse effects of higher subcontracting expenditure in our AgTech business line,

Speaker 3

in which we

Speaker 4

are preparing the operational capacity from our new factory and continued investments In our Motion and Eyewear business lines, adjusted EBITDA represented 10.6% of revenue compared to 10.8 Slide 13 provides the highlights of our income statement for the Q1. Gross profit margin grew to 55 or 8.7 percent to €32,400,000 We significantly invested in our growth businesses, especially through R and D, which increased 15.3%. Sales and marketing increased 5.7% And G and A increased 7.2%. These operating expenses also included the impact of our internal digital transformation project whose first phases went live during the Q1 of the year. As a result of these elements, The group's operating result was positive €5,000,000 compared to €50,000 in last year's period.

Speaker 4

Net financial loss for Q1 was €566,000 compared to a net income of 376,000 in Q1 last year. Net profit for the quarter increased to 3,700 €15,000 compared to €127,000 for the 2022 period. Now please turn to slide 14 for the recap of balance sheet and cash flow highlights. At the end of the Q1 of 2023, Our balance sheet remains strong. Cash amounted to €141,000,000 compared to €141,700,000 compared to €140,900,000 on December 31, 2022.

Speaker 4

Total deferred revenue increased €1,700,000 to €44,500,000 from €42,800,000 as of end last year. Cash flow from operating activities for the Q1 of 2023 was flat €11,000,000 This quarter, our operating cash flow consisted of income statement components of €10,200,000 Working capital increased 800,000. Capital expenditures for the quarter amounted to €3,300,000 We're not finest. Peter?

Speaker 2

Thank you, Johan. In our Q4 call in February, We said we expected to report consolidated revenue between €255,000,000 €260,000,000 and an adjusted EBITDA between €25,000,000 €30,000,000 for the entire year. Based on our strong Q1 performance, but also bearing in mind the continuing uncertain global macroeconomic environment, We now believe that our 2023 revenue will come closer to the top of our initially guided range, I. E, €260,000,000 Now while we attribute most of our EBITDA growth to structural improvements, We do recognize that certain tailwinds also contributed to our strong Q1 results. Bearing that in mind, We revised our 2023 guidance upwards and now expect that our 2023 EBITDA will be between 28 and €33,000,000 And with this, I would like to conclude our prepared remarks.

Speaker 2

So operator, if you could kindly please open the floor to questions.

Operator

Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Alexander Kramersz from Kepler Cheuvreux. Your line is now open.

Speaker 5

Hi, good afternoon. So Congratulations on the nice set of results. I was just wondering, How are the works going on the new ACTech facility? And maybe if you could remind us how much and when these investments are expected to be made? And then how much the facility is going to contribute on the top line and bottom line in the Manufacturing segment as it appears that the Recovery there is maybe going a bit slower than anticipated.

Speaker 5

And then the second question would be How you see wage inflation moving? And if we can see the end of the OpEx rise and the OpEx Cost, can we expect them now to be under control? And then as a final question, on the medical segment, could you just Repeat why surgeons prefer your solutions over the other solutions because I think you mentioned that it was related to technical issues, but We all know that Materialise is very good at what it does. So I think it's only not only to technical issues. Could you repeat that,

Speaker 1

Please. Hello?

Speaker 3

Yes. I propose you have posed Three questions and that we will distribute them a little bit, yes. Starting with your ACTech question, We indicated that, yes, the new plant we purchased We'll be taking this year to be reconstructed on one hand, but mainly We need expensive equipment there that has a long delivery delay, Approximately 18 months. So we hope to get fully operational In the beginning of 2024. This investment spread over multiple years It's in total in the order of magnitude of €30,000,000 of which We did already some last year.

Speaker 3

And then Yes. We believe that in a period of, yes, 5 years approximately, this will double the output of Acitex. At this moment, the fact that we are already growing rapidly is We're waiting on the bottom line of our manufacturing activities because it means that certain steps of the production process we have to Subcontract, which, yes, causes Our results to decline a little bit due to the expenses, both internally and externally, that are related And then I pass the word to Johan to discuss the OpEx question.

Speaker 4

Yes. Frittore, you mentioned that in the top line that we have had now in Q1 the positive effect of the inflation adoption for our annual contracts that could be revised in the beginning of the year. That will further be adjusted according to the way that inflation will continue. We see also that inflation is decreasing in the countries where we are active. So that is also positive.

Speaker 4

It is also kept under control because we are also anticipating long term agreements with Our vendors where we are hedging and managing the costs such that we can control it. Also the salary increases is an effect that takes in place in our organization at the beginning of the year, but In Belgium, it's also adopted in by mid of the year. The fact that it is decreasing is a positive effect, but it will also We slightly on our next quarter's results. Again, we our products Out of that quality that our clients are also prepared to assume the cost increase of inflation. And we As it looks now, we see that we can continue doing so.

Speaker 2

Okay. So I'm lost, Alexander, your question regarding medical, question why do surgeons prefer our solutions? I break up the Answer to that question in 2 parts, if I may. 1st, in general, and then more related to the developments of the Q1 of this year. In general, I think our personalized solutions in medical are Extremely successful for many reasons, but let me name 3.

Speaker 2

First, innovation. We constantly sit together with the customer and try to innovate or bring innovation into our processes and into our products. 2nd, this fairly unique combination between innovation on one hand and robust reliability on the other hand, Including the quality that Fried referred to earlier, our products are innovative, but surgeons see that the products come in, in time, 1st time right, top quality. And 3rd, I would say the personal touch because the surgeons can constantly We remain in touch with our clinical engineers, which I mean further boosts the reliability and the potential to further fine tune the products to the specific needs of their customers. So hence, the success of our product lines In general, now what has happened in Q1 and sort of the tailwinds that Fried referred to, we We learned that some of our competitors had either technical or regulatory issues, which meant that some of the medical device companies, at least temporarily, also directed business that was typically handled by those competitors Now to materialize.

Speaker 2

Now these issues at the level of our competitors are temporary. So I mean those surgeons May go back and are probably more most likely to go back to their typical supplier. But of course, they've had now access 2, these three components of the Materialise success story. And so obviously, the I mean, our expectation or our hope is That some of these surgeons may stick to our way of working. However, they won't at all stick to our way of working.

Speaker 2

So hence, our somewhat more prudent view on the continued growth Also with respect to the Medical Devices for the next three quarters of the year. There you go, Alexander. I hope that You got 3 clear answers to your 3 questions.

Speaker 5

Thank you. And maybe as a small follow-up on the surgeon's question. I mean, has this happened in the past? And can we expect, as you already mentioned, some stickiness from the Surnus perspective?

Speaker 3

Yes. Absolutely. But secondly, I want to repeat that The robust growth is already clearing year after year for Nearly a decade, as I indicated, on those medical devices we have been discussing. And yes, okay, I think On average, we reported 20% growth on those medical devices or above In previous years. So that's the kind of baseline growth, yes?

Speaker 3

When Peter was discussing these tailwinds, That has made that we did, well, even much better in this particular quarter and with a 33% growth, yes? So and that's the combination that we had in our favor. But the robust baseline growth It's present, and we believe as personalization is a big trend In the medical industry, we'll continue to be strong in the years to come.

Speaker 5

Okay. Thank you. And again, congratulations.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. All right. So one moment while we get the next Question? Our next question comes from the line of Gregory Ramirez of Brian Gagne and Company, please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Good afternoon and thank you for taking my question. Hi. Yes, we just come back to the Softcore division because when you look at the cost base, Q1 It's pretty low. It's coming back to basically the cost base we had in Q1 2022. And I I was just wondering what extent this cost base would be sustainable?

Speaker 6

Do we have some, say, maybe some one off items? And just to come back to the pace of improvement of The margin in the software division. If I remember well, the goal Was basically to come back to 35% plus margin, Pretty late, maybe By the end of 2025, if I remember well, the software division. So Does the situation in Q1 augur an earlier than expected improvement? Because Yes.

Speaker 6

Going from minus 12% in Q4 2022 to plus 21% in 20

Speaker 3

Yes. Jagdari, as we indicated during our previous call, Yes. Software was struggling in Q4 because We had some yes, and we had some yes, costs related to the reorganization of our teams. And on top of that, yes, in over entire 2022, we had some, Let's call it double teams that were needed to do the quick Connection between the Materialise Software, the LINK3D Software and the IDENTIFY3D Software. Now we gradually shift into a real integration mode that we do with a more limited team.

Speaker 3

And we take advantage of the reorganization. But you are right That also in software, we have a bit of tailwind because and Peter Said this during his remarks, because we have some projects that unfortunately are delayed Because we have some troubles finding all the right people to make sure we can work in On the other hand, we are concerned and we will try to generate a little bit more cost In the next quarters as fast as possible in order to execute the projects we currently have in our pipeline.

Speaker 6

All right.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Gregory.

Operator

All right. Thank you. All right. Since we do not have any other questions, I would now like to turn the conference back to Mr. Johan Albrich.

Operator

Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Dear Materialise fans, today I commented on the results of Materialise for the last time as I decided to leave the company at the end of May. I just want to take a moment now to express my gratitude to Materialise and each and every one of you For the amazing journey we've shared together over the past 8 years. Working alongside so many talented and passionate colleagues It has been an honor and a privilege. It's been a wild ride, but we've accomplished a lot together in the past 8 years, And I'm incredibly proud that I could present the positive trends in terms of growth and profitability as the quarters followed each other. I'm convinced that Materialise is in excellent shape to further achieve long term profitable growth and to further evolve as a leading 3 d printing NASDAQ listed company.

Speaker 4

After a short break, I'll be exploring new opportunities for my next adventure And I wish you all the very best in your continued success, both personally and professionally. Thank you. Take care and keep in touch.

Speaker 3

Johann, we are very grateful for the Many valuable contributions you made during these 8 years as CFO. Johan, you have built strong SOX compliant financial reporting and control system. You have enhanced our financial position, And you have put the tools in place and the measures to help Materialise achieve Our goal of long term profitable growth. We will miss you as our CFO, but also as a highly appreciated colleague. I'm sure some people in this call I have also multiple contacts with you, and they will certainly appreciate Your professionalism combined with a very fine humor that makes even dull but important financial data digestible.

Speaker 3

We will ensure a smooth transition to a new CFO. As of May 15, Koen Bergus will join Materialise as the new Chief Financial Officer. Koen Bergus brings more than 20 years of experience in financial leadership in various business environments ranging from large multinational corporations to leading a family holding. He has played a key role in building financial strategies for many years, including in IT infrastructure companies, an area where Materialise sees significant growth opportunities with our OEM initiative. We welcome him to Materialise and look forward to his contributions.

Speaker 3

But again, Thanks, Johan, for your service and accept our deep appreciation for all what you have done for Materialise. Thank you very much.

Speaker 2

Thank you. Thank you, Fried and Johan. Johan, I would like to echo Fried's kind words I also thank you for your very valuable professional contributions to Materialise, but also for the very pleasant working relationship that you have established with so many colleagues internally, including myself, and as Fried alluded to, also with so many external partners. I wish you the very best for your post materialized time. And simultaneously, Together with the colleagues, I look forward with confidence to continuing the Materialise journey together with your successors, Koen Bergus.

Speaker 2

And with that, I would like to conclude our session for today. Next week at Rapid in Chicago, Fried will be present together with the heads of our Medical and Software divisions, Brehitte and Bart. If you did not yet reach out To us to arrange a meeting with any one of them, then please feel free to do so, and we will do our utmost best to accommodate your requests. Thank you and goodbye for now. Goodbye.

Speaker 2

Goodbye.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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Materialise Q1 2023
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