What happened
Proto Labs (PRLB 1.05%), a contract manufacturer of 3D-printed products for prototypes and custom production runs, is making quite a run itself Friday morning.
Shares of the 3D-printing company were up 12.6% as of 11 a.m. ET after it reported big beats on both the top and bottom lines for the fourth quarter.
So what
Ahead of the Q4 report, analysts had forecast that Proto Labs would earn $0.27 per share, adjusted, on sales of $117.4 million. In fact, it grew its sales 18% year over year to $123.6 million. Meanwhile, the company's adjusted (i.e., non-GAAP) profits were $0.41 per share, and its GAAP profits (calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles) were even better -- up 19% year over year to $0.43 per share.
That was a superb performance for the quarter, and indicates significant improvement after a year when Proto Labs' numbers were often weaker. For all of 2021, in fact, sales grew only 12% to $488.1 million, and net profit per diluted share declined by 36% to $1.21.
Free cash flow for the year also declined, falling 65% to just $21 million.
Now what
President and CEO Rob Bodor pronounced himself "pleased" with the quarter's results, noting that both growth and revenue exceeded management's expectations. It was a happy result after what he described as "a transformative year" during which Proto Labs has become "the only company with industry-leading in-house digital manufacturing capabilities coupled with a premium network of manufacturing partners."
So what comes next? Management actually didn't give any guidance for 2022, but analysts are forecasting revenue growth of 6% to $521 million, and a resumption in profit growth to $1.64 per share (which would amount to a 35.5% increase).
No wonder investors are bidding the stock price up.