The turnaround of struggling 3-D printing firm Stratasys Ltd. continued during the fourth quarter, as the company suffered fewer losses than in past years.
Stratasys, which has dual headquarters in Eden Prairie and Israel, lost $14.8 million for the quarter, a vast improvement from the $232 million lost for the same period in 2015. The company saw fourth-quarter 2016 sales rise 1 percent to $175 million.
Excluding one-time items, the company made a profit of $7.8 million, or 15 cents per share, during the quarter.
Stratasys has struggled for years to turn a profit as competitors flooded the 3-D printing marketplace. The company also was forced to right-size its income, profit and expense mix while targeting customers from the industrial, entrepreneurial, retail and educational sectors.
Stratasys not only makes industrial 3-D printing machines, but also uses its own 3-D printers to make prototypes and product components for customers.
The company stumbled badly a few years ago when it boldly began chasing consumer and retail end markets. In 2014, a run of its consumer 3-D printer products were found to have defective parts, soon after stores such as Home Depot and Staples started selling them.
CEO Ilan Levin said the company is pleased with "the progress we are making to improve and deepen customer engagement."
"Additionally, we are encouraged by the growth in our recurring revenue during the period, demonstrating strong utilization of our installed base of systems," he said.
