A banner hangs outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) before the IPO of Virgin Galactic (SPCE) in New York, USA, on October 28, 2019.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Virgin Galactic delivered fourth-quarter results after closing the market on Thursday, and the company revealed that its next space flight test was delayed to May.
The company already signed up on February 13 for the space flight test of its SpaceShipTwo “Unity” vehicle, which represents a repeat of its flight attempt in December that was interrupted by an engine anomaly. Virgin Galactic’s investor presentation revealed that it “identified EMI as the root cause” of the December motor flight abortion, with the “additional impacts of EMI” discovered during preparations for the return of the 13th. of February.
While there will only be two pilots on board, the flight is expected to be the first of three, as the company seeks to finish developing its spacecraft system and start flying paid passengers.
Shares of Virgin Galactic fell to 11% in after-hours trading, after falling 8.4% during the day to close at $ 42.24 per share.
Virgin Galactic’s Unity spacecraft plans to land after a flight test in New Mexico on June 25, 2020.
Virgin Galactic
“We have achieved several significant milestones during 2020 despite the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a press release. “Looking to the future, we are focused on completing our test flight program, expanding our fleet of spacecraft and motherships, and developing our unique and transformative customer experience.”
The space tourism company reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $ 59.5 million, slightly lower than the loss of $ 66 million in the previous quarter. The company posted revenue of $ 0 in the quarter, as it did in the previous quarter. Virgin Galactic’s fourth-quarter loss of $ 0.31 per share coincided with the expectations of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
At the end of the year, the company had about $ 666 million in cash, down from $ 742 million in the third quarter.
Virgin Galactic also said it will launch the next space probe of its fleet and the first of the SpaceShip III generation on March 30th. This next probe will begin flight testing this summer.
The company announced earlier Thursday that chief financial officer Jon Campagna is stepping down and will be effective Monday. He will be succeeded by Doug Ahrens, former chief financial officer of semiconductor specialist Mellanox.
Virgin Galactic revealed in a securities archive that James Ryans, director of Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings, resigned from the company’s board of directors on February 22nd. He was replaced by Gil West, head of operations for General Motor’s Cruise division.
Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive information and analysis and live scheduling of weekdays from around the world.