ROCK HILL, S.C., Nov. 21, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 3D Systems Corporation (Nasdaq:TDSC), a leading provider of 3-D Printing, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing solutions, announced today that, in anticipation of the difficult economic climate that lies ahead and its uncertain duration, the company has undertaken a series of additional cost reduction programs, including the curtailment of various, non-critical planned expenses for the balance of 2008 and beyond. As part of these additional cost reductions, the company announced today that it has begun a reduction in its workforce that will affect about 25 people out of its worldwide workforce of 360, including 5 employees from its Rock Hill, South Carolina headquarters.
"While I believe that we have made good progress in curtailing our operating expenses and reducing operating losses, as evidenced by their sequential improvement this year, we have not yet achieved our stated targets," commented Abe N. Reichental, 3D Systems' President and Chief Executive Officer.
"The current economic downturn is unprecedented and has exceeded even the most conservative estimates and forecasts. Specifically, the lack of liquidity in the financial markets has resulted in severe difficulties for many of our customers that have made it hard for them to obtain the credit support that they need to finance their orders with us," continued Reichental. "And many of our existing and prospective customers are taking steps to conserve their own cash resources. As a result, their decisions to make additional investments in our technology during this time of economic uncertainty have become prolonged.
"While I had hoped until now that we could find enough savings to see us through these turbulent times without the need to resize our organization, the current economic realities and their uncertain duration led us to conclude that we have no choice but to adjust the size of our workforce to a level that is consistent with the current business environment," continued Reichental. "As an organization, we have in the past successfully ridden out challenging economic times and have moved forward to subsequent profitable growth. We expect to do so again."
The company expects to absorb all the costs associated with this reduction during the fourth quarter of this year and to realize some $2 million in additional annual savings during 2009. The company maintains its previously disclosed SG&A range of $10-11 million for the fourth quarter of this year.
"With these additional cost-cutting measures in place, we continue to believe that our financial resources are adequate for our current and anticipated future needs during this trying economic period, and we confidently believe that we have the strength and sustainability to continue to deliver the right products and services to our customers world-wide. In line with that, we are pleased to share with you that our current unrestricted bank balance remains above its amount at the end of the third quarter," concluded Reichental. "Notwithstanding the current economic downturn, we believe that our recently released innovative and well-positioned seven new products should help our manufacturing customers by reducing their development costs, shortening their time to market, and providing real economic cost-savings alternatives to their traditional manufacturing processes. Accordingly, we expect that these factors will help drive stronger demand for our products during this uncertain economic period."
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements in the conditional or future tenses or that include terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "estimates," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include comments as to the company's beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company. The factors described under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements," "Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors," and "Risk Factors" in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements.
About 3D Systems Corporation
3D Systems is a leading provider of 3-D Printing, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing solutions. Its systems and materials reduce the time and cost of designing products and facilitate direct and indirect manufacturing by creating actual parts directly from digital input. These solutions are used for design communication and prototyping as well as for production of functional end-use parts: Transform your products.
More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com
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