Maple Plain-based contract manufacturer Protolabs Inc. handily beat analysts' expectations for the third quarter with record sales and profits.
Sales for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 jumped 31 percent to reach a record $88 million as its client base grew. Net income grew 58 percent to a record $20.9 million, or 77 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings were $23.4 million, or 86 cents a share, which handily beat the 74 cents that analysts expected.
"We are pleased to deliver another quarter with over 30 percent growth," CEO and President Vicki Holt told analysts in a conference call Thursday. "Protolabs again demonstrated strong performance across all of our geographies and in each of our services."
The company specializes in injection molding, precision steel milling and 3-D printing and has increased its offerings and locations dramatically in recent years. It is renovating a new location in Brooklyn Park that is expected to open by the end of the year.
"As a result of continued strong operations and growth in each of our individual service offerings, we are becoming more of a total solution for some of our customers," Holt said. "The majority of our top customers have utilized every one of our core services in 2018."
