A banner hangs outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in front of the OPI Virgin Galactic (SPCE) in New York, USA, October 28, 2019.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Virgin Galactic achieved the results of the fourth quarter after closing the market on Thursday, the company revealing that its next space flight test is postponed until May.
The company has been targeting the space flight test of its SpaceShipTwo “Unity” vehicle since February 13, which is a repeat of its December flight test, which was interrupted by an engine anomaly. Investor Virgin Galactic’s presentation revealed that he “identified EMI as the main cause” of the December motor flight abortion, with “additional EMI impacts” discovered during preparations for the February 13 revolution.
While only two pilots will be on board, the flight is expected to be the first of three as the company tries to complete the development of its spacecraft system and start flying paying passengers.
Virgin Galactic shares fell up 11% in after-hours trading, after falling 8.4% during the day to $ 42.24 per share.
Virgin Galactic’s Unity spacecraft slips for a landing after a test flight in New Mexico on June 25, 2020.
Virgin Galactic
“We have achieved several significant milestones in 2020, despite the continuing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a press release. “Looking to the future, we are focusing on completing our flight testing program, expanding our fleet of spacecraft and parent ships, and developing our unique and transformative customer experience.”
The space travel company reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $ 59.5 million, down slightly from a loss of $ 66 million in the previous quarter. The company reported revenue of $ 0 in the same quarter, as in the previous quarter. Virgin Galactic’s fourth-quarter loss of $ 0.31 per share was in line with the expectations of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
The company has about $ 666 million in cash at the end of the year, down from about $ 742 million in the third quarter.
Virgin Galactic also said it will launch the next spacecraft in its fleet and the first generation SpaceShip III, on March 30. The next spacecraft will begin flight tests this summer.
The company announced earlier on Thursday that CFO Jon Campagna is resigning, which will take effect on Monday. He will be succeeded by Doug Ahrens, former chief financial officer of semiconductor specialist Mellanox.
Virgin Galactic revealed in a securities depository that James Ryans, a director of Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings, resigned from the company’s board on February 22. He was replaced by Gil West, the main operations office of General Motor’s Cruise division.
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