Selling expenses were kEUR 2,074 for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to kEUR 1,638 in the fourth quarter of 2016. The increase of kEUR 436 was mainly related to increased personnel expenses related to higher headcount for our sales force.

Administrative expenses were kEUR 1,427 for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to kEUR 1,200 in the fourth quarter of 2016. The increase was mainly related to higher consulting fees in connection with the preparation of several financing activities.

Research and development (“R&D”) expenses decreased to kEUR 1,574 in the fourth quarter of 2017 from kEUR 1,840 in the fourth quarter of 2016. The decrease of kEUR 266 was mainly due to lower expenses related to material and external services for various projects compared to the last year’s same period. Those expenses are usually driven by individual projects and might differ on a quarter to quarter comparison.

Other operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2017 were kEUR 239 compared to kEUR 35 in the prior year period. This was mainly related to higher losses from foreign currency transactions, which were primarily driven by the valuation of the intercompany loans granted by the parent company to our US and UK subsidiary.

Other operating income was kEUR 235 for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to kEUR 569 in the fourth quarter of 2016. The decrease was mainly due to lower gains from foreign currency transactions, which were primarily driven by the valuation of the intercompany loans granted by the parent company to our US and UK subsidiary.

Operating loss was kEUR 2,633 in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to an operating loss of kEUR 2,890 in the comparative period in 2016. The improvement was mainly due to higher gross margin from both the Systems and the Services segments. Additionally the research and development expenses decreased. This was partially offset by increased selling expenses as well as administrative expenses.

Financial result was a positive of kEUR 253 in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to a negative financial result of kEUR 71 in the comparative period in 2016. This was mainly due to finance income from the revaluation of the embedded derivative related to the Performance Participation Interest in connection with the first tranche of the loan received by the European Investment Bank.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2017 was kEUR 2,460 or EUR 0.66 per share, as compared to net loss of kEUR 2,961, or EUR 0.80 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Based on a conversion rate of five American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) per ordinary share, net loss is EUR 0.13 per ADS for the three months ended December 31, 2017, compared to EUR 0.16 per ADS from the comparative period of 2016.

Year Ended December 31, 2017 Results

Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017 increased by 3.8% to kEUR 23,178 compared to kEUR 22,338 in the prior year period.

Systems revenues were kEUR 11,534 year ended December 31, 2017 compared to kEUR 13,081 in last year’s period. The Company sold ten new and five used and refurbished 3D printers during the year ended December 31, 2017 compared to fifteen new and three used and refurbished 3D printers in the prior year period. The decrease in Systems revenues was mainly due to the lower number of 3D printer sales. Systems revenues represented 49.8% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017 compared to 58.6% for the last year’s same period.

Services revenues were kEUR 11,644 for the year ended December 31, 2017 compared to kEUR 9,257 for the same period last year. This increase was mainly due to a higher revenue contribution from the German operation and our subsidiaries voxeljet America and voxeljet China, which was established during the second quarter of 2016. The main driver for the increase is the German operation, showing growth which was approximately three times the increase from voxeljet America and voxeljet China. The increase in revenue at our German service center is due to the robust economy on the European market. The revenue growth at our American service center resulted from a growing market penetration in the respective sales regions, accompanied by a bigger customer base. This was partially offset by a lower revenue contribution from voxeljet UK.

Cost of sales for the year ended December 31, 2017 was kEUR 13,824, a decrease of kEUR 1,611, or 10% compared to cost of sales amounting to kEUR 15,435 for the same period in 2016.

Gross profit and gross margin for the year ended December 31, 2017 were kEUR 9,354 and 40.4%, respectively, compared to kEUR 6,903 and 30.9%, respectively, in the prior year period.

Gross profit for our Systems segment increased to kEUR 3,921 for the year ended December 31, 2017 from kEUR 3,197 in the same period of 2016. The gross profit margin for this segment increased to 34.0% compared to 24.4% for the prior period. The improvement within the System segment was mainly related to the reduction in the reserve for slow-moving inventory with a positive impact of kEUR 515 in 2017, compared to a charge to cost of sales in 2016 of kEUR 954. Due to the reduction of work in progress resulting from the adjustment of production according to the market demand, the reserve has partially been reversed within the business year 2017 with an amount of kEUR 515.