Zortrax and Sygnis head towards obscurity
The Atomic Layers: S10E18 (00285)
Atomic Layer of the Day:
Polish 3D printer manufacturers have long served more as a historical backdrop in discussions about the state of the AM market, but that doesn’t change the fact that they still exist and generate some revenue.
Two of them – Zortrax and Sygnis (including Zmorph) – are even listed on the Polish stock exchange. Admittedly, it's not the main market but a “small-cap market for tech companies,” but a stock exchange is a stock exchange.
Jordan Belfort started his climb for fortune with companies like these.
A few days ago, both companies published their financial reports. And if you're curious how they performed in the first quarter of this year – here’s my recap…
Zortrax S.A. and Sygnis S.A. (along with the Sygnis Group, which includes Zmorph) have long been struggling with significant financial challenges, although to varying degrees. Both reported losses in the first quarter of 2025, but their liquidity, debt levels, and profitability prospects differ considerably.
ZORTRAX
Zortrax, which is currently undergoing restructuring, reported net sales revenue of 1,15M PLN (approx. €247,000) in Q1 2025, a decline of -53.4% compared to the same period the previous year. At the same time, operating expenses amounted to 2,16M PLN, resulting in an operating loss of -1 million PLN.
After accounting for other income and expenses, the operating loss totaled -1,16M PLN. Including financial costs and income tax, the company ended the quarter with a net loss of -1,13M PLN. Normalized EBITDA stood at -249,903 PLN, corresponding to a negative EBITDA margin of -21.7%, confirming a lack of profitability in the reported period.
Zortrax S.A.'s balance sheet structure highlights significant debt issues. Total assets dropped from 141M PLN at the end of Q1 2024 to 65M PLN at the end of Q1 2025, mainly due to a reduction in intangible assets, including goodwill.
Equity fell from 116M PLN to 37M PLN, due to accumulated losses from previous years and ongoing operations.
Short-term liabilities stood at 23,3M PLN, representing 83.8% of total liabilities.
The company has no long-term debt, which may limit its ability to refinance. Notably, cash at the end of the period amounted to just 88,456 PLN, indicating extremely low liquidity.
Zortrax’s financial condition is critically endangered.
It is generating negative cash flows from operating activities (-120,588 PLN), making it unable to service its obligations independently without external support.
Despite the approval of a partial arrangement in its restructuring proceedings, which may reduce creditor pressure, current revenues are too low to ensure financial stability. Debt repayment capability is highly questionable, especially given the lack of near-term prospects for profitability.
Zortrax is in a difficult financial position, characterized by non-profitability, high short-term debt, and limited liquidity.
While the company is not yet facing immediate closure due to its ongoing restructuring process, its long-term viability hinges on securing additional funding and significantly improving operational efficiency. Without these changes, debt repayment with current revenue and profitability levels seems highly unlikely…
SYGNIS (Zmorph)
Sygnis S.A. reported sales revenue of 557.3 thousand PLN (€132,646), but the net result was a loss of 431.4 thousand PLN. EBITDA came in at 20.4 thousand PLN, translating to an EBITDA margin of 3.65%, indicating low profitability in core operations. The balance sheet showed short-term liabilities of 17.7 million PLN.
Cash flow from operating activities was positive, indicating an ability to generate cash, but the scale of net losses and relatively high liabilities compared to revenue raises concerns about the sustainability of the business model.
Unfortunately, the entire Sygnis Group (including Zmorph) reported far more severe issues.
Consolidated sales revenue reached only 703.4 thousand PLN, while the net loss amounted to 2.0 million PLN. The Group’s EBITDA was negative (-1.56 million PLN), with an EBITDA margin of -221.43%, indicating deep unprofitability.
The Group’s short-term liabilities amounted to 22.95 million PLN. Additionally, cash flow from operating activities was negative (-631.1 thousand PLN), signaling liquidity problems without external support.
Sygnis’s financial condition is concerning but not yet critical. Low profitability and net losses limit growth potential, but positive operating cash flow and relatively lower debt could allow the company to continue operations if it undergoes restructuring.
The entire Sygnis Group, however, is in a far more difficult situation – deep losses, negative EBITDA, and high liabilities relative to insufficient revenues point to insolvency risk.
Comparing the two companies, Zortrax – though generating more revenue than Sygnis – faces deeper liquidity problems and a lack of profitability. As a group, Sygnis is in a much more precarious position, with dramatically negative EBITDA and a high risk of bankruptcy.
Atomic Layer from the Past:
05-18-2020: Grupa Azoty presented Tarfuse AM – a line of antibacterial filaments.
News & Gossip:
Today I have just one rumor—but it's a big and very likely one. Stratasys has acquired Forward AM and… that’s not the end. It has acquired something else, from someone else. But nothing on the scale of last year’s Nano Dimension buying spree. It’s an intriguing hardware-related addition that makes a lot of sense in the context of the “key assets” from Forward AM.
Overall, Stratasys is having a good moment on the stock market, reporting its best results since February this year, with a market cap above $800 million.
The same can't be said for 3D Systems, whose stock price hasn’t been this low since the 2000s, with a current market cap of just $235 million. For comparison, Australian company Titomic is currently valued at $410.99 million…