Terran Orbital, a facility in Irvine, California, has announced a significant reduction in its revenue guidance for 2023. The company’s previous estimate of $250 million has been revised to “in excess” of $130 million. This downgrade comes as a result of a delayed milestone payment from Rivada Space Networks for a constellation deal.

Rivada was expected to make these milestone payments in the second half of this year. However, Terran Orbital recently revealed that the payment has been delayed, causing uncertainty about the contract’s performance timeline. As a result of this delay, Terran Orbital has removed any further revenue contribution from this contract in its current year forecast. However, the company still expects revenue contribution in future years.

The Rivada constellation deal is a significant part of Terran Orbital’s backlog, which currently stands at $2.6 billion. Terran Orbital is typically paid in advance for its work, and the funding sources for Rivada are private. Terran Orbital CEO Marc Bell has described Rivada’s backer as a “large sovereign” that has yet to publicly announce their support for the project.

Despite the delayed payment from Rivada, Terran Orbital experienced strong revenue growth in the third quarter, reporting $43.9 million, a 58% increase year-over-year. However, the company also reported a net loss of $26.4 million during this period.

Terran Orbital’s stock is also facing the risk of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. In October, the company received a notice that its share price is too low, and it could face delisting if it fails to raise the average price above $1.

Despite these challenges, Terran Orbital remains engaged with Rivada and believes that the contract will provide significant future revenue and cash flows. However, the timing of these payments remains uncertain, leading the company to be conservative in its forward guidance. As of October 31, Terran Orbital had more than $70 million of cash on hand.