The IM-1 “Odysseus” lander in lunar orbit, February 21, 2024.
Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines is constructing on the success of its inaugural mission to the moon, reporting fourth-quarter results on Thursday and saying it now has “sufficient capital for the near term.”
The lunar company revealed its year-end cash balance was just $4.5 million – partly in consequence of paying off $12 million of debt from its balance sheet. Following the historic moon landing in February, the company saw roughly $50 million in “institutional investor warrant exercise” and raised $10 million in equity capital.
Intuitive Machines emphasized that the company’s March 1 cash balance of nearly $55 million was “the largest quarter-end balance since the company went public.”
“We enter 2024 in a strong financial position. We have increased our cash position with lower debt, we have increased our backlog, our margins are improving and our future opportunities are brighter than ever,” Intuitive Machines interim CFO Steve Vontur said during the company’s earnings call.
Net income of Intuitive Machines a fourth quarter was $4.6 million, down 63% from $12.4 million in the same period a 12 months earlier. Revenue for the quarter was also lower at $30.6 million, down 20% year-over-year from $38 million a 12 months earlier.
Intuitive Machines shares fell 2% on Thursday from the previous close of $5.61.
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The company indicated that it has recently improved its backlog, in addition to a lot of upcoming potential contracts with NASA, which can further strengthen the momentum gained by the company’s inaugural mission to the Moon.
Overall, Intuitive Machines had a backlog of nearly $270 million at year-end.
“We expect sales to increase significantly this year based on the current backlog,” Vontur said.
Intuitive Machines began realizing revenue from a multi-year engineering services contract with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, price $12.5 million in work accomplished in December – a monthly rate the company expects to take care of in the coming 12 months.
Additionally, the Houston-based company mentioned three upcoming potential contracts with NASA, including constructing a lunar rover able to carrying astronauts, providing lunar data services and extra lunar mission contracts.
The first of those awards, the NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle program, is scheduled to be announced on April 3. The planned LTV effort is a 10-year, $4.5 billion program to construct a car-like rover to move astronauts across the Earth’s surface. Moon. Intuitive Machines leads a team that features: Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Michelin and valued their offer for the initial project contract at roughly $30 million over the course of the 12 months. The company expects NASA to award multiple design contracts.
“We are very confident in our capabilities and our design and can’t wait to hear more about it,” said Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus.
Preparations for the second mission
The landing gear of Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lunar lander absorbs first contact with the lunar surface during landing at the Malapert A facility on the Moon as the liquid methane and liquid oxygen engine continues to sputter, February 22, 2024.
Intuitive Machines | Via Reuters
Last month, Intuitive Machines flew its first cargo mission, called IM-1, to the Moon. The lander landed successfully, then rolled over, but was still capable of operate on the surface for about per week, a historic first for a non-public mission.
Altemus said Intuitive Machines has accomplished a review of its first payload mission to the Moon and has now “identified areas requiring adjustments” for its second mission.
“We are still planning the IM-2 mission in 2024,” Altemus said.
The company highlighted a lot of milestones achieved toward the launch of the IM-2 flight, including testing the various payloads that the Intuitive Machines lander will carry – including the Micro Nova “rocket-propelled drone” and NASA’s ice mining drill.
