Virgin Galactic income from space tourism trims quarterly loss

Shares of Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) are modestly higher in after-hours trading as the company’s efforts to increase profitability and raise revenue from space tourism resulted in a narrower loss in the second quarter, beating expectations by $0.53 per share, while revenue increased substantially to $4.22M, exceeding estimates by nearly $1M.

Investors were equally encouraged that progress on the company’s Delta Class spaceship was “substantial” in Q2.

“In the next month, our teams will pivot primary focus from design completion to the build and test phases of our production spaceships, which remain on track to enter commercial service in 2026,” said CEO Michael Colglazier.

Income generated by spaceline operations reached $27.3M from just $234K in the prior year’s quarter, while R&D expenses were cut in half to $41.5M contributing to a narrower net loss of $93.9M, or $(4.36) per share versus a loss of $(9.16) per share in the same quarter last year.

The company’s cash position improved as well, although it remained cash flow negative at $114M at the end of Q2 versus negative cash flow of $135M in the same quarter last year. For Q3, however, the company expects to have negative cash flow of $115M to $125M.