Stratasys (SSYS +1.65%) reported fiscal 2014 first-quarter earnings before the market opened today that showed better-than-expected revenue growth. For the period ended March 31, Stratasys reported a nongenerally accepted accounting principles profit of $20.6 million or $0.40 per diluted share. That was a down from $0.43 per share during the same period a year ago, but it was inline with Wall Street's expectations for the quarter.
Revenue was a bright spot in the earnings report, as Stratasys posted non-GAAP revenue of $151.2 million in the first quarter. That translates into 54% revenue growth over the year-ago period in which Stratasys generated revenue of $98.2 million. But if you factor out the revenue contribution from MakerBot products than Stratasys' revenue grew 33% in the quarter. Nevertheless, Stratasys first-quarter revenue came in well above analysts' estimates for revenue of $143.3 million.
The 3-D printer maker said the strong revenue growth in the quarter was driven by increased sales of its higher margin products and services. But management said that operating margin expansion would likely be offset by "aggressive investments in new market and product development for MakerBot products," throughout the remainder of fiscal 2014.
Shares of Stratasys are down nearly 30% year to date.
