David Reis
Analyst · Cross Research. Your line is open
Thank you, Elan. Our first quarter results reflect a continuation of the trends we observed in the fourth quarter of last year, with strong hardware and consumables growth in the U.S., our largest market. In the U.S., we had a very good quarter for our high-end Fortus FDM production systems, driven in part through continued adoption of aerospace OEMs. As we have mentioned before, our high-end platforms generate more utilization per unit, which we believe will lead to accelerated future annuity streams from materials and services. The U.S. also saw a strong quarter for our F123 platform, with continued interest in our new Elastomer TPU material-enabled edition. Overall, we continue to see increased adoption of our target verticals of aerospace, automotive, and healthcare and dental. We are pleased with the early traction we are seeing from our new products launched last year, including the F380 Carbon Fiber Edition, and the previously mentioned Elastomer TPU-enabled version of our F123 Printer. We also began shipping the new MakerBot Method at the end of the first quarter, after showing strong pre-order demand. Recently, at the Additive Manufacturing User Group conference, we made several announcements. We introduced the new F120 3D Printer, an industrial-grade system targeting customers to additive manufacturing. The F120 offers the benefits of our F123 platform at an affordable price, and provides reliable, accurate, and quality 3D printing specifically designed for designers, engineers and educators. The market response has been very positive, and we look forward to shipping the F120 later this year. We also showcased our new V650 Flex Stereolithography 3D Printer, our first commercially-available entry into this marketplace that combines the power of a large-scale system with an open, configurable environment that is fine-tuned across a broad range of available resins. The V650 gives customers greater accuracy, choice, and lower costs for 3D printed prototyping and part development. Select DSM resins tailored for specific applications will be commercially available directly from Stratasys. Interest has been strong, and we expect to place units at customer sites throughout the year and beyond. Finally, we announced our collaboration with Pantone – the authority on professional color standards and digital solutions across the design industry. The Stratasys J750 and J212 Printers are now the first and only 3D printing systems with technology officially recognized as Pantone-Validated, allowing for synchronized color communication between designers, modelers and manufacturers. We expect to continue to see demand for our high-end PolyJet solutions from industries that require high levels of realism, including the consumer-packaged goods and medical segments. These represent just the beginning of a series of product launches and announcements that we plan to make over the next 18 months and beyond, that we believe, collectively will meaningfully expand our portfolio and contribute to accelerated growth beginning in 2020. In addition to upcoming new innovations from our FDM and PolyJet portfolios, we expect to increase our manufacturing-focused materials offerings, add additional technologies that expand our addressable markets, and pursue collaborations that enhance our abilities to enter into high requirement industries and applications. I would like to briefly mention a significant milestone that we achieved in our key vertical segment of aerospace. Recently, the National Institute of Aviation Research, or NIAR, published a National Center for Advanced Materials Performance material specification, process specification and extensive test and analysis reports, which document the performance, or the design allowables, achievable with a Fortus 900mc and ULTEM 9085 in our Aircraft Interior Solution configuration. While aerospace companies often develop their own processes and standards, this specification document makes it easier for others in industry and supply chain to leverage our technology with a fraction of the testing, qualification and investment needed previously, and without the risk of an unknown outcome. The only way to meet this standard is to run ULTEM from Stratasys on a qualified Fortus production system. We are extremely excited about reaching this milestone and look forward to the continued adoption of our technology for advanced manufacturing applications in aerospace. I would now like to turn the call over to our VP of Investor Relations, Yonah Lloyd, who will provide greater details on our 2019 financial guidance. Yonah?