Todd Shields
Fri, August 5, 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. shares dropped after the space tourism company again delayed its commercial service, calling for a launch in the second quarter of 2023.
The startup had previously disappointed investors by pushing back the launch, once planned for the third, then fourth quarter of 2022. In May, Virgin Galactic delayed it to the first quarter of 2023.
Virgin Galactic shares fell 14% in premarket trading Friday to $7.08 as of 7:58 a.m. in New York. The stock dropped about 39% this year through Thursday’s close.
Analysts warned in research notes after Virgin reported second quarter earnings Thursday that its cash burn rate is accelerating and it will likely need to raise more cash through equity, which could further weigh on the shares.
The company posted a net loss of $110 million for the quarter and said its cash and cash equivalents totaled $329.9 million, down 40% from a year ago.
On a conference call to discuss those results, Chief Executive Officer Michael Colglazier cited supply-chain disruptions and labor constraints as pressures on its operations.
The company, founded by entrepreneur Richard Branson, last month said it was contracting with Boeing Co.’s Aurora Flight Sciences to design and build two motherships. The twin-hulled aircraft carry its passenger spaceships to about 50,000 feet and release them to travel into space.
Fri, August 5, 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. shares dropped after the space tourism company again delayed its commercial service, calling for a launch in the second quarter of 2023.
The startup had previously disappointed investors by pushing back the launch, once planned for the third, then fourth quarter of 2022. In May, Virgin Galactic delayed it to the first quarter of 2023.
Virgin Galactic shares fell 14% in premarket trading Friday to $7.08 as of 7:58 a.m. in New York. The stock dropped about 39% this year through Thursday’s close.
Analysts warned in research notes after Virgin reported second quarter earnings Thursday that its cash burn rate is accelerating and it will likely need to raise more cash through equity, which could further weigh on the shares.
The company posted a net loss of $110 million for the quarter and said its cash and cash equivalents totaled $329.9 million, down 40% from a year ago.
On a conference call to discuss those results, Chief Executive Officer Michael Colglazier cited supply-chain disruptions and labor constraints as pressures on its operations.
The company, founded by entrepreneur Richard Branson, last month said it was contracting with Boeing Co.’s Aurora Flight Sciences to design and build two motherships. The twin-hulled aircraft carry its passenger spaceships to about 50,000 feet and release them to travel into space.
Thu, August 4, 2022
Virgin Galactic's carrier airplane WhiteKnightTwo carrying a space tourism rocket plane SpaceShipTwo, takes off takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave
(Reuters) - Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc on Thursday again delayed the commercial launch of its space flight to the second quarter of 2023 from the first quarter, sending the shares of the space tourism firm 6% lower after the bell.
The company founded by billionaire Richard Branson had in May cited supply-chain crisis and labor shortage to put off the launch to the first quarter of 2023. Before that, it had delayed flights to the fourth quarter of 2022.
"While our short-term plans now call for commercial service to launch in the second quarter of 2023, progress on our future fleet continues," Chief Executive Michael Colglazier said.
Virgin Galactic had in February re-opened ticket sales to the public for space travel, setting prices at $450,000 per person with an initial deposit of $150,000.
The company also reported a bigger net loss of $110.7 million in the second quarter compared to $94 million a year earlier.
Last month, it entered into a pact with Boeing Co subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences to build its new twin-fuselage carrier plane that will ferry its next-generation spaceship to space.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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