“Space Startup Ispace Stocks Drop by 25% After Lunar Lander Mission Failure”

Space development startup ispace (Icespace) is expected to continue its decline on the 27th. At 1,190 yen, which is 25% lower than the previous day’s closing price, the price limit is full, and the balance is a sell order of more than 3 million shares.

The company’s stock was prorated at 1,590 yen, 20% lower than the closing price on the 25th, the day before, after the world’s first private lunar lander failed to land on the moon. Two weeks after going public, hopes and disappointments have made the stock price volatile like a roller coaster.

ice spaceIt was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on April 12, prior to April 26, when the success or failure of the moon landing would be decided. The public offering price at the initial public offering (IPO) was 254 yen, but the stock price was temporarily bought as high as 2,373 yen due to expectations for a successful moon landing.

“Investors had high expectations,” Chief Executive Takeshi Hakamada said at a press conference yesterday. Regarding the risk of landing on the moon, he said, “Over the past six years, we have designed the system, including external reviews, and have increased the probability of it. We also disclosed information and asked investors about the difficulty of landing.” said he had spoken to

Ispace expects a net loss of 11.3 billion yen in the previous term (ending March 2023) and a loss of 7.9 billion yen this term. On the other hand, this term’s sales are expected to be 6,196 million yen, more than six times higher than the previous term. According to Junpei Nozaki, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the impact on forecasts for the current fiscal year will be minimal as sales have already started before the mission. “It’s hard to say now,” he said about next term and beyond.