Shares of the American aerospace company Virgin Galactic fell by 4.5% – to $7.16 – in preliminary trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The decline in securities of the company of billionaire Richard Branson occurred against the background of the message that the launch of commercial services for tourists postponed from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023 because of the limitations of the supply chain of components and the lack of labor resources, writes RBC. This was announced by Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglaser.

Earlier Virgin Galactic reported that it will begin commercial flights in the fourth quarter of 2022, and from 2023 will make three commercial flights per month. Another test flight of the VSS Unity suborbital spacecraft is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022.

The company also reported that its net loss for the first quarter narrowed to $93 million compared to a net loss of $130 million in the first quarter of 2021.