Shares of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (SPCE) were on their way back to Earth Tuesday after the space exploration and tourism company missed analysts expectations on revenue in its first quarter as a public company.

Virgin Galactic, which hopes to eventually take tourists to space, reported quarterly sales of $529,000, falling short of the Street estimate of $1.78 million by more than 70%.

CEO George Whitesides found upsides to the fourth quarter, noting that the company completed its public listing in October and achieved some milestones at its Spaceport America facility in New Mexico, including getting mission control and other key units up and running. 

Ticket Sales To Start Again Soon

The company, founded by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, halted sales of tickets for space travel to the public in 2014 after the death of a pilot during a test flight. But growing demand, and achievements in safety since then, led Whitesides to announce recently that the company planned to resume sales of $250,000 tickets to the edge of the atmosphere.

"The progress we made in 2019, combined with the high level of interest from potential customers, underpin the steps we are taking toward reopening ticket sales," Whitesides said in a statement Tuesday. "We are continuing to build on our strong momentum as we enter the most exciting chapter of our story to date and prepare for commercial launch.”

Virgin Galactic also announced its "One Small Step" initiative allowing interested would-be space tourists will be able to pay a refundable $1,000 deposit to secure a front-of-line position for future ticket reservations. 

Financial Highlights

• Revenue of $529,000 for the quarter.
• Cash and cash equivalents of $480 million as of December 31.
• Net loss of $73 million for the quarter. 
• Adjusted EBITDA totaled of negative $55 million.
• Capital expenditures of $6 million in the quarter.

SPCE Stock Price

Virgin Galactic shares, which had soared in recent weeks, were down 5% in after-hours trading to $32.40.