© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Virgin Orbit building in Long Beach, California, U.S., March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake
By Joey Roulette
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings said in a filing with U.S. regulators on Monday that there is “substantial doubt” that its cash position will allow it to continue operating for at least the next 12 months.
Days after announcing the layoff of nearly its entire workforce, the startup company said it expects to disclose in a forthcoming filing that its “liquidity condition casts substantial doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern for at least 12 months” than expected. issue date of its annual 10K filing, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Virgin Orbit’s statement came in a notice explaining why it has yet to submit its 2022 annual report. It attributed the delay to “potential fundraising transactions” and limited resources and staff amid an “operational pause and reduction of the workforce.”
Difficulties raising funds in recent months and a rocket failure in January have added to the pressure on the company to find new funding. On March 16, the company began a furlough of almost all of its 750 employees while it searched for a new investment plan.
Unable to raise new funding, Virgin Orbit decided on Thursday to lay off about 85% of its workforce, or about 675 employees.
Virgin Orbit, spun off from Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism company in 2017, went public in 2021 via a blank check deal, where it raised $255 million, less than expected.
“As of December 31, 2022, we have not generated positive cash flows from our operations or generated sufficient income to provide sufficient cash flows to allow us to finance our operations, and we may not be able to raise enough capital to do so,” said the Monday. he presentation said.
He added that he expects to report by 2022 approximately $33.1 million in revenue and a net loss of around $191 million.
