News

Virgin Galactic Announces $81 Million Net Loss for Q4, $353 Million Loss for 2021

By Doug Messier

Parabolic Arc

February 23, 2022

Filed under Blair Rich, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, human spaceflight, Michael Colglazier, space tourism, space tourists, Spaceport America, SpaceShip III, SpaceShipTwo, SpaceShipTwo Delta Class, suborbital flights, suborbital research, Unity 22, virgin galactic, VMS Eve, VSS Imagine, VSS Unity, WhiteKnightTwo

Commercial Service Remains on Track for Q4 2022
Current Fleet Enhancement Program On Schedule to be Completed in Q3 2022
Opened Ticket Sales to the General Public

TUSTIN, Calif. (Virgin Galactic PR)– Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (“Virgin Galactic” or the “Company”) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021 and provided a business update.

“We remain on track and on schedule to complete our enhancement program and launch commercial service later this year,” said Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic. “We achieved many important milestones in 2021 that laid an essential foundation towards becoming a scaled, commercial operation. In recent weeks, we opened sales to the general public and launched our new global consumer brand. Demand for our one-of-a-kind experience remains strong, and we are currently building our operations to accommodate our growing customer base.”

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Business Highlights:

Opened sales at new price point of USD $450,000 for private astronauts in Q3 2022.
Opened a new Engineering, Design and Corporate headquarters, which will serve as the primary hub for R&D and the development of both the Delta class spaceship and the next generation motherships.
In July 2021, successfully completed first fully crewed spaceflight, Unity 22, which fulfilled test objectives including evaluating the cabin and customer experience.
In June 2021, received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for full commercial launch license, marking the first time that the agency licensed a company to fly customers to space.
In May 2021, successfully completed first spaceflight from Spaceport America, New Mexico, Unity 21, which fulfilled various test objectives and carried revenue-generating scientific research experiments.
Rolled out Spaceship III, VSS Imagine, the second spaceship in the current fleet.

Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights:

Cash position remains strong, with cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of approximately $931 million as of December 31, 2021. This does not reflect our recent fundraise.
GAAP selling, general, and administrative expenses of $40 million, compared to $33 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Non‐GAAP selling, general and administrative expenses of $29 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $21 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
GAAP research and development expenses of $42 million, compared to $41 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Non‐GAAP research and development expenses of $36 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $38 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Adjusted EBITDA totaled $(65) million, compared to $(60) million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Net loss of $81 million, compared to a $104 million net loss in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Recent Updates:

Expected launch of private astronaut commercial service remains on track for Q4 2022.
Fleet enhancement program for mothership Eve and spaceship Unity remains on track to be completed in Q3 2022. This enhancement program is designed to improve the vehicles’ durability, reliability, and flight rate frequency leading into commercial service.
On February 15, 2022, announced the opening of tickets sales to the general public and launched new consumer brand.
On February 8, 2022, announced the appointment of Blair Rich as President and Chief Business Officer, Commercial and Consumer Operations.
Progressed plans for the design and location of new final assembly manufacturing facility for the Delta class spaceships.
In final stages of negotiations with preferred suppliers to manufacture the next generation of our motherships.
In January 2022, we consummated a convertible debt offering that resulted in $425 million in gross proceeds to us. The proceeds of the offering are expected to be used to fund working capital, general and administrative matters and capital expenditures to accelerate the development of the Delta class spaceship fleet and next generation motherships.

Financial Guidance:

The following forward-looking statements reflect our expectations for the first quarter of 2022 as of February 22, 2022, and are subject to substantial uncertainty. Our results are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date, but may be materially affected by many factors, as discussed below in “Forward-Looking Statements.”

Forecasted free cash flow for the first quarter of 2022 is expected to be in the range of $(75) to $(85) million.

Conference Call Information

Virgin Galactic will host a conference call to discuss the results at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) today. To access the conference call, parties should dial +1 844 200 6205 or +1 646 904 5544 and enter the conference ID number 022958. The live audio webcast along with supplemental information will be accessible on the Company’s Investor Relations website at https://investors.virgingalactic.com/events-and-presentations/. A recording of the webcast will also be available following the conference call.

About Virgin Galactic Holdings

Virgin Galactic is an aerospace and space travel company, pioneering human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers with its advanced air and space vehicles. It is developing a spaceflight system designed to connect the world to the love, wonder and awe created by space travel and to offer customers a transformative experience. You can find more information at https://www.virgingalactic.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws with respect to Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”), including statements regarding the Company’s spaceflight systems, markets and expected flight schedule. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by words such as “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of our website at www.virgingalactic.com. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and, except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED)

This presentation references certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), including Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP selling, general, and administrative expense, non-GAAP research and development expense and free cash flow. The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, and certain other items the Company believes are not indicative of its core operating performance. It defines non-GAAP selling, general, and administrative expenses as selling, general, and administrative expenses other than stock-based compensation and non-capitalized transaction costs, and non-GAAP research and development expenses as research and development expenses other than stock-based compensation. It defines free cash flow as net cash used by operating activities less capital expenditures. None of these non-GAAP financial measures is a substitute for or superior to measures prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to any other measures derived in accordance with GAAP.

The Company believes that presenting these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful supplemental information to investors about the Company in understanding and evaluating its operating results, enhancing the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects, and allowing for greater transparency with respect to key financial metrics used by its management in financial and operational-decision making. However, there are a number of limitations related to the use of non-GAAP measures and their nearest GAAP equivalents. For example, other companies may calculate non-GAAP measures differently, or may use other measures to calculate their financial performance, and therefore any non-GAAP measures the Company uses may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures (Unaudited)

This press release references certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), including Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP selling, general, and administrative expense and non-GAAP research and development expense. The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, and certain other items the Company believes are not indicative of its core operating performance. It defines non-GAAP selling, general, and administrative expenses as selling, general, and administrative expenses other than stock-based compensation and non-capitalized transaction costs, and non-GAAP research and development expenses as research and development expenses other than stock-based compensation. None of these non-GAAP financial measures is a substitute for or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP.

Doug Messier