The ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) held its initial public offering (IPO) in early February, and to say it was a success was to put it mildly. Shares went out at $18 and closed above $25. The stock has continued to climb since then, now approaching a doubling of the IPO price.

The company, one of just four publicly traded firms focused primarily on 3D printing, reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results after markets closed last night. ExOne posted net income of $902,000 on revenues of $12.7 million for the fourth quarter. The consensus estimate called for earnings per share of $0.08 on revenues of $12.3 million. ExOne’s press release does not include an EPS number.

In its Form S-1/A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ExOne said the IPO would total approximately 6.1 million shares and that outstanding shares after the IPO, including the underwriters’ options, would total 13.28 million. Simple math puts EPS at about $0.068. The consensus estimate called for EPS of $0.08.

For the full year, ExOne reported a net loss of $10.168 million, that calculates out to about $0.77 a share. The consensus estimate called for a net loss of $0.66 per share.

On the revenue side, the story is somewhat stronger. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2011. revenues are up $10 million, and for the year revenues nearly doubled, from $15.3 million in 2011 to $28.7 million in 2012.

For the 2013 fiscal year, the company forecasts revenue in the range of $48 million to $52 million, with about two-thirds of that due in the second half of the year. Gross margins are forecast in a range of 42% to 48%, down slightly from the 49% margin reported for the fourth quarter.

ExOne’s revenue forecast calls for more growth than either of its publicly traded competitors, 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) and Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS). Of course it is much smaller, with a market cap of less than $400 million, so it should grow faster. Both 3D Systems and Stratasys forecast growth in the new fiscal year of about 25%.

With nearly $75 million from its IPO, ExOne has some cash to push its growth plans, but jumping revenue by 75% could be too aggressive, especially when the rest of a relatively small industry plans on growth of just one-third that amount.

Investors liked what they saw last night, though, bidding the shares up about 5.7% in after hours trading to $32.25 in a post-IPO range of $23.50 to $33.60. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $32.70 before these results were announced.

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