Groupe Gorgé, the parent company of French engineering firm and 3D printer manufacturer and service provider Prodways Group, reported a 26 percent recovery in its revenue between the second and third quarters in a row. However, the comparative quarters, which remove the seasonality, present a different picture.
During Q3 2020, Groupe Gorge generated € 54.3 million in consolidated revenue. This figure represents a decline of 9.3 percent, compared to € 59.9 million reported in the same period last year. In contrast, the firm generated 35.2 percent less in the second quarter of 2020 than in the second quarter of 2019, meaning that compared to the quarter, Group Gorge recovered 26 percent of its revenue between the second and third quarter of 2020 is.
Groupe Gorgé’s 3D printing division was not part of this recovery, however, and its revenue fell 18.3 percent in Q3 2020 compared to the same period last year. The company’s share price fell from € 12.62 to € 11.76 after its financial results were released, but has since returned to € 12.08.
In a statement released with the results, Groupe Gorgé claimed that while its revenue was low, the group’s financial position represented a “significant improvement in trends” during Q3 2020. The company attributed the “flexibility” that its business showed in one. The economic environment that was “severely hampered by a severe health crisis”.
Groupe Gorgé’s Q3 2020 financial results
Groupe Gorgé’s revenue is reported in three main segments: smart security systems, the security of high-risk installations, and 3D printing. The smart safety system, which includes the group’s revenue from its robotics, aerospace and simulation products, contributes the largest share of the company’s consolidated revenue.
The group’s Smart Safety Systems division was the least affected by the epidemic, and it reported revenue of € 21 million in Q3 2020, a 6.4 percent drop compared to € 22.5 million generated in Q3 2019. However, the commercial aviation revenue of the segment was badly hit. By, this was partially offset by a 25.8 percent increase in its robotics business.
During Q3 2020, Groupe Gorge’s Protection of High-Risk Installation Division made quarter-on-quarter improvements, and even saw a 4.9 percent increase in sales over Q2 2020. This apparent increase in customer demand was not enough to curb the segment’s Q3 2020 revenue. However compared to the third quarter of 2019, and it fell from € 21.6 million to € 19.8 million.
Prodways’ additive recovery continues to stall
In terms of its 3D printing division, the group continued to struggle during the third quarter, and its revenue declined from € 16 million in the third quarter of 2019 to € 13.1 million in Q3 2020. In the third quarter, its machine and software businesses failed to recover in the same way.
The company reports its overall 3D printing figures under its production subsidiary, which showed a 21.3 percent decrease in system revenue, from € 10m in the third quarter of 2019, to € 7.8 million in Q3 2020. The group attributed the decline in machine sales to “the ‘wait-and-see’ attitude of its industrial customers towards the pandemic, who have been reluctant to spend until the broader economy is more predictable.”
Similarly, Prodways’ products division, which includes its service bureau and medical products business, saw its revenue shrink from €6.1 million in the third quarter of 2019 to €5.2 million in the third quarter of 2020. Demand for the firm’s on-demand parts continued to decline during the quarter. , But its medical activities, which were severely affected by the lockdown earlier this year, have now returned to normal levels.
Moving into Q4, the group hopes to see what it describes as a “gradual recovery” in its 3D printing segment “to continue in the coming months”, despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the epidemic.
Will Groupe Gorge continue his comeback in Q4?
Looking ahead to Q4 2020, the company intends to continue to look for growth opportunities, as it moves forward with its merger with the ECA Group. The move will allow Groupe Gorge to cut costs by eliminating the dual list of companies, and follow its agreement to acquire one of its competitors, Interdam, earlier this year.
Having recently launched its StedY engineering consulting service, the company also intends to focus on supporting its growth and development for the rest of the year. In terms of 3D printing activity, the group has not changed its outlook, but ensures that it expects its slow return to business growth to continue in the near future.
In a closing statement, Grupp Gorge indicated that it was cautiously optimistic about the next quarter, but its recovery depended on the health of the broader economy. The briefing concluded, “The group Gorge’s end customers are diverse and should not be the most affected by the current crisis in the long term, with the exception of civil aviation.”
