German metal 3D printer manufacturer SLM Solutions has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2019. Total revenue for Q1 2019 was reported at €7.3 million. The results show a 51% decrease in the same period in 2018 which was €14.9 million.
Regarding the latest numbers Uwe Bögershausen, Chief Finance Officer of SLM Solutions, stated, “The first quarter of 2019 saw the introduction of trend-setting changes which will have an essential impact on the future of SLM Solutions Group AG.”
“From my point of view, these changes are to be warmly welcomed since they are necessary and will lead us in the right direction, after our company repeatedly failed to meet its objectives.”
The number of machines SLM sold in Q1 2019 was 7 compared to 15 in Q1 2018. The total value of the orders amounts to €3.5 million in Q1 2019 compared to €8.8 million in the previous year.
SLM Solutions revenue by segment
SLM Solutions reports revenue in two segments, Machine Business and After Sales Business. The Machine Business comprises SLM’s selective laser machines and accessory devices, whereas After Sales Business accounts for service, spare parts, powder, training and installation of machines.
In Q1 2019, revenue from the Machine Business segment fell to €4 million from €9.4 million in Q1 2018. After Sales Business, on the other hand, reported revenue of €3.2 million in Q1 2019, a fall of 40.27% compared to Q1 2018 which was €5.4 million.
| Revenue | Q1 2019 (€k) |
Q1 2018 (€k) |
Variance € millions | Variance % |
| Machine Business | 4,060 | 9,495 | -5,435 | -57.24% |
| After Sales Business | 3,276 | 5,485 | -2,209 | -40.27% |
| Total | 7,336 | 14,980 | -7,644 | -51.03% |
Personnel expenses at the company increased by 19% from €6.9 million to €8.3 million. Other operating costs also saw a small rise of 5.67% from €3.6 million in Q1 2018 to €3.8 million in Q1 2019. Overall expenses of the company, rose to €10,6 million in Q1 2019 from €9.8 million in Q1 2018. The net loss of SLM Solutions increased from the €3.1 million reported in Q1 2018 to €7.7 million in Q1 2019.
| Expenses | Q1 2019 (€k) |
Q1 2018 (€k) |
Variance € millions | Variance % |
| Personnel expenses | 8,322 | 6,994 | 1,328 | 18.99% |
| Other operating expenses | 3,855 | 3,648 | 207 | 5.67% |
| Total | 12,177 | 10,642 | 1,535 | 14.42% |
Moving forward with new management
Authorized share capital is the maximum amount of shares a company can issue according to its constitution. Earlier this year, SLM Solutions increased its authorized share capital by 10% from €17.9 million to €19.7 million. These shares were acquired by the fund manager affiliate of Elliott Management Corporation, Elliott Advisors (UK). The purpose of this strategy was to inject capital of €13 million in SLM Solutions.
After buying 10% of the shares, Elliot Advisors increased its stake in SLM Solutions to 29.8%. It was reported that 20% of these shares would be transferred to ENA Investment Capital.
Regarding this strategy, Hans-Joachim Ihde, Chairman of SLM’s Supervisory Board, had said, “The injection of additional capital is a strong vote of confidence in the future prospects of SLM.”
During that period, changes in the company’s board of directors were also announced. This included the appointment of Magnus René, former CEO of GE company Arcam, to SLM Solutions’ supervisory board, and Meddah Hadjar former Additive Laser Products General Manager at GE Additive, as CEO of SLM Solutions.
Restating these changes, Bögershausen concluded the report, “The first quarter of 2019 did not go as planned from an operating point of view. Revenue stood at EUR 7.3 million and was by 51.0% significantly below the previous year’s level. Unfortunately, our order intake did not grow either (EUR 3.5 million compared with EUR 8.9 million in the year before). The negative EBITDA trend is a consequence of the lower revenue.”
The full financial results for SLM Solutions Q1 2019 can be found online here.
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Featured image shows the SLM Solutions SLM 280 2.0. Image via SLM Solutions Group AG.
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