By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com -- Virgin Galactic stock (NYSE:SPCE) traded 4.3% higher in premarket Wednesday after the company posted a narrower loss in the fourth quarter and said plans remain on track for a commercial launch of its services later this year.
The company again opened ticket sales last week, priced at $450,000 for a 90-minute excursion to space in July-September. It currently has a backlog of about 750 customers who have placed initial deposits of $150,000 each.
It plans to offer three flights per month by mid-2023 from Spaceport America in New Mexico with two spacecraft, VSS Unity and VSS Imagine, Bloomberg quoted CEO Michael Colglazier as saying.
The company on Tuesday revealed plans to outsource major parts of future spacecraft assembly to help lower costs and speed up production.
The company has sharpened its focus on its Delta class of spaceships. According to Bloomberg, the startup plans to conduct engineering and research work from a new office complex at Tustin in California, while procuring parts of its Delta ships from major aerospace suppliers. That approach will be more cost effective and help the company build its fleet faster.
The first Delta flight is expected in late 2025, with paying passengers the following year. According to Reuters, the spacecraft is expected to make up the bulk of its flight capacity and fly once a week.
Net loss in the fourth quarter narrowed to $81 million from $104 million a year ago.
The company founded by billionaire Richard Branson held about $931 million in cash as of December 31, compared with $679 million a year earlier. The figure excludes the $425 million it raised last month through a debt offering.