Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc quarterly report, Q3 FY2019

Business context and reporting period

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. filed this Form 10-Q for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2019; it was signed November 12, 2019. During the reporting period, the registrant was Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp., a blank-check company, not the operating Virgin Galactic business. It reported no revenue or operating business activity through September 30.

On October 25, 2019, after quarter-end, the company completed its business combination with the Virgin Galactic companies and domesticated as a Delaware corporation named Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. The transaction issued 130 million shares to sellers at a stated $10 per share, for $1.3 billion in aggregate merger consideration. Vieco US also elected a $52.1 million share repurchase. Former CEO Chamath Palihapitiya separately purchased 10 million shares from Vieco US for $100 million; that was a secondary purchase, not company proceeds.

Financial results and position

Amounts below are U.S. dollars. Revenue and operating margins are not applicable because the registrant had no revenue.

MetricQ3 2019Q3 2018Nine months 2019Nine months 2018
Operating costs$4.21 million$224,827$7.01 million$1.22 million
Net income (loss)$(482,184)$3.04 million$5.01 million$7.24 million
Basic and diluted loss per ordinary share$(0.20)$(0.00)$(0.32)$(0.04)
Net cash used in operating activitiesNot separately stated for the quarter$(1.76) million$(798,376)

Reported income largely reflected interest earned on trust-account securities, rather than operating performance: interest income was $3.47 million in Q3 and $12.03 million for the nine months. Q3 operating costs rose sharply year over year, and the quarter moved from net income to a net loss.

At September 30, assets were $677.29 million, including $677.17 million of marketable securities in the trust account and only $48,489 of cash outside it. The company reported a $7.08 million working capital deficit. Current liabilities were $7.21 million, including $5.48 million of accounts payable and accrued expenses and $1.73 million of related-party advances. Deferred underwriting fees were $24.15 million; there was no long-term debt. Class A shares subject to possible redemption were classified outside shareholders’ equity at $640.93 million. Trust-account securities were U.S. Treasury bills with maturities of 180 days or less.

For the nine months, investing cash inflow of $39.10 million from trust withdrawals was offset by financing cash outflow of $37.75 million, principally redemptions; operating activities used $1.76 million. Cash declined from $462,162 at year-end 2018 to $48,489. The September shareholder extension vote resulted in redemption of 3,771,178 shares for approximately $39.1 million, leaving approximately $677.2 million in the trust account.

Outlook, risks, and other notable items

The filing provides no operating forecast or quantified guidance for the post-merger Virgin Galactic business. Management described the pre-combination entity’s expenses as public-company, due-diligence, and transaction costs. It stated that substantially all trust funds, subject to applicable deductions, were used to complete the business combination. Related-party advances and the deferred underwriting commission were repaid at closing; the sponsor-affiliate administrative-services agreement ended at closing.

Management identified forward-looking statements as subject to risks and uncertainties and directed investors to the October 10, 2019 proxy statement for post-combination business risk factors. The filing reported no legal proceedings, no off-balance-sheet arrangements, and no long-term debt. Management concluded disclosure controls were effective and reported no material change in internal control during the quarter. On November 4, 2019, the company issued 413,486 shares to a financial advisor as partial payment for transaction advisory services.

Important facts for investors to verify

  • Review the October 25, 2019 closing disclosures and subsequent financial statements to assess the combined company’s actual cash, debt, and capitalization; this 10-Q largely reports the pre-combination SPAC.
  • Verify how much trust-account cash remained available after redemptions, the share repurchase, underwriting and transaction costs, and other closing uses.
  • Assess the operating company’s revenue, cash burn, liquidity runway, and commercial-flight plans in its post-merger filings; this report provides no operating-company results or quantified guidance.
  • Consider the substantial increase in quarterly costs and the distinction between trust-account interest income and operating earnings.
  • Note that the filing reports 82,478,822 common shares outstanding as of November 12, 2019; verify subsequent issuances and dilution in later filings.