Materialise has reached an agreement to transfer its eyewear business to its management team, allowing it to continue as an independent company. The announcement was made when it released Q1 2026 results last week.
The eyewear business is the company’s second major portfolio divestiture in six weeks. The move mirrors the decision taken on March 31, when Materialise transferred its RapidFit business, a provider of custom 3D-printed jigs, fixtures, and quality control solutions for the automotive industry, to its management team, under the same rationale of greater focus and proximity to customers.
In this case, Materialise will retain a minority stake in the newly formed entity, and all employees currently supporting the eyewear business will transition to the new company. Financial terms were not disclosed. Impairment charges are expected in Q2 2026.
CEO Brigitte de Vet-Veithen states: “we expect macro‑economic and geopolitical uncertainty to persist throughout fiscal year 2026. Nevertheless, we continue to have confidence in the strength and resilience of our underlying business fundamentals. The strategic repositioning initiatives and targeted investments across our three business segments are expected to progressively support operational performance and profitable growth.
Notwithstanding the anticipated impact of the divestments of Rapidfit and Eyewear, we reaffirm our full‑year revenue guidance for fiscal year 2026 in the range of 273,000 to 283,000 kEUR. In addition, we are maintaining our Adjusted EBIT guidance for fiscal year 2026 of 10,000 to 12,000 kEUR, reflecting our continued focus on execution discipline, cost management, and capital allocation.”
This is not the first time Materialise has reshaped its portfolio. We covered the company’s acquisitive years closely, from the acquisition of ACTech in metal manufacturing, to Link3D for AM workflow, to Identify3D for supply chain security. Today’s moves are the other side of that arc: shedding activities that no longer align with the direction of travel.
That direction is increasingly clear. Materialise operates with roughly half its activity in healthcare, a quarter in software, and a quarter in 3D printing services and de Vet-Veithen has flagged workflows, as the critical bottleneck for AM industrialization. Eyewear is consumer-facing and product-driven. RapidFit is automotive-adjacent, at a time when European automotive markets remain soft. Neither fits the core strategy.
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