Shares in Proto Labs (NSDQ:PRLB) are up today after the contract manufacturer beat the consensus forecast on Wall Street for its third-quarter sales and earnings.
Maple Plain, Minn.-based Proto Labs posted profits of $13.2 million, or 49¢ per share, on sales of $88.1 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, for a bottom-line gain of 10.3% on sales growth of 12.7% compared with Q3 2016.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share reached 56¢, 4¢ ahead of The Street, where analysts were looking for revenues of $84.5 million.
“We continued to drive strong performance in the third quarter, delivering record revenue for the third straight quarter,” president & CEO Vicki Holt said in prepared remarks. “Our investments in the business to support the needs of our customers are delivering returns with increasing operating margins and record earnings this quarter.
“Our concerted effort over the past couple of years to expand relationships with our customers continues to drive our performance. The U.S. and Europe, our two largest geographies, delivered record revenue levels as our focus on the customer continues to show positive signs. We continue to expand our capabilities and provide more of a total solution to help our customers get their products to market as efficiently and cost effectively as possible,” Holt said.
The news pushed PRLB shares up 4.7% to $85.85 apiece today in mid-morning trading.
