By
Godfrey Benjamin
August 10th, 2023
Virgin Galactic said earlier that the ramp-up of astronaut service would determine a favorable profit.
American spaceflight company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE) has announced mixed results for its fourth quarter (Q4) after the relaunch of its tickets sales earlier this month. The company recommenced the sales of tickets on the 16th of February. Flight analysts have requested a complete overhaul of the flight itinerary.
Tickets formerly sold at $250,000 now sell at $450,000. Of 1000 seats, the spaceflight enterprise has only 250 seats left for sale. Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said:
“We expect to have our first 1,000 customers on board at the start of commercial service later this year, providing an incredibly strong foundation as we begin regular operations and expand our fleet.”
He anticipates the final sale of seats. However, he did not say if the 1,000 future astronauts would fly before its spaceship service begins. The firm estimates first-quarter free cash flow to be a loss of $75 million to $85 million.
Virgin Galactic said earlier that the ramp-up of astronaut service would determine a favorable profit. Virgin Galactic does not see the astronaut spacecraft begin research flights until 2025 or enter commercial service until 2026.
Furthermore, Virgin Galactic has arrangements to begin operations in its private enterprise. The enterprise will offer extensive astronaut services. It was initially to start by the end of the third quarter. However, the upgrade plans may not allow the timeline. It may take off in the fourth quarter. The upgrade plans have led to improved management, with profitable outcomes.
Virgin Galactic Announces Q4 Results
Palihapitiya, Virgin Galactic’s first chair, was influential in the company becoming a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) public in 2019. SPACs took Wall Street by storm in 2020. The collaborative strategy availed companies an avenue to go public while bypassing much of the regulatory scrutiny of initial public offerings. Virgin Galactic’s SPAC enthusiasm has broken, even though some of their spaceships remain popular with investors.
FactSet has estimated a loss of 35 cents per share versus a loss of 31 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenues are expected to grow from $0 to $300,000. In addition, there is a loss of 32 cents per share on revenue of $141,000.
Also, Virgin Galactic said it lost $81 million, or 31 cents a share, in Q4, compared with a loss of $104 million, or 44 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Virgin Galactic stock has been unstable in the past 12 months, especially in Q4 As a result of the company delaying the beginning of commercial space flights to later this year.
At the time of writing, Virgin Galactic is trading at $8.18 in premarket trading. Except for a 4.60% gain over its previous close of 47.82, SPCE has been recording losses. The company has shed more than 83% over the past year.
Last week, Chamath Palihapitiya declared his resignation as the Chairman. He said it was to “focus on other public company board commitments.”