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Delta, Kelowna, BC, December 2, 2019 (Investorideas.com
Newswire) www.Investorideas.com, a global news source covering leading sectors
including marijuana and hemp stocks and its potcast site, www.potcasts.ca release today’s podcast
edition of cannabis news and
stocks to watch plus insight from thought leaders and experts.
Listen
to the podcast:
Today’s
podcast overview/transcript:
Good
afternoon and welcome to another episode of Investorideas.com
"Potcast" featuring cannabis news, stocks to watch as well as
insights from thought leaders and experts.
In today’s podcast
we look at a few early announcements.
Aphria
Inc. (TSX: APHA) (NYSE: APHA) announced that its subsidiary Aphria Diamond secured
a credit facility, on November 29 2019, with a major Canadian chartered bank as
sole arranger, sole book runner and administrative agent on behalf of a group
of lenders for a committed senior secured credit facility of $80 million.
"Aphria has
the largest cash balance in the cannabis industry without the dilution of a
strategic partner," said Irwin D. Simon. "We are pleased to have
secured a term loan that will repatriate a portion of our investment in Aphria
Diamond, to be strategically deployed by Aphria. This loan strengthens our
balance sheet without being dilutive, and positions Aphria Diamond for success
as we expand into new categories and growth opportunities in cannabis to
enhance value for shareholders long term."
Since securing its
Health Canada license on November 1, 2019, Aphria Diamond is quickly coming on
scale. Aphria Diamond will be 70 per cent planted by mid-week, with 350,000
young seedlings planted. With the level of automation and scale of the
facility, the Company anticipates Aphria Diamond to have one of the lowest cost
structures in the industry. Aphria expects the dried flower production from the
first harvest to be sold to provincial control boards sometime in March 2020.
The Credit Facility
is secured by Aphria Diamond's assets and Aphria's balance sheet. Pricing is
based on a set margin over the Bank's Canadian Prime Rate or Bankers'
Acceptance and a pricing grid linked to certain financial ratios. It is
expected to be at the outset in the low-to-high 5 per cent per annum range. The
Credit Facility has a three-year term and contains customary financial and
restrictive covenants.
PharmaCielo
Ltd. (TSXV:PCLO) (OTCQX: PCLOF) announced that the Company has qualified to trade on
the OTCQX® Best Market in the United States and secured Depository
Trust Company ("DTC") eligibility. PharmaCielo's shares were
previously traded on the OTC Markets' Pink® Market under the ticker
"PHCEF" and have begun trading today on the top tier OTCQX®
Best Market under an updated ticker symbol of "PCLOF".
"Having our
shares traded on the top-tier of the OTC Markets in the U.S. is a testament to
PharmaCielo's successful transition from the start-up phase into a mature
medicinal cannabis company with robust operating infrastructure," said David Attard, CEO of PharmaCielo Ltd.
"Being traded on the OTCQX Market is expected to provide PharmaCielo with
greater visibility for U.S. and international investors who are looking for
opportunities to participate in the burgeoning global medical cannabis
industry. In addition, DTC eligibility will provide added convenience to U.S.
investors, brokers and institutions."
Aurora
Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB), the Canadian company defining the future
of cannabis worldwide, today announced that one of the Company's oil products has
now been approved for use under Ireland's new Medical Cannabis Access Programme
(MCAP). Aurora's High CBD Oil Drops received approval from the Irish
authorities and have now been added to a regulatory schedule by the Irish
Minister of Health enabling importation, prescribing and supply under the
scheme and is to date, one of only two products to gain such authorization.
Dr Shane Morris,
Chief Product Officer at Aurora said, "Aurora is pleased to be able to
assist patients who are seeking treatment with high quality EU-GMP (good
manufacturing practice) certified pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis in
Ireland. We are very proud to be one of
the first approved suppliers of medical cannabis under the MCAP. We want to acknowledge the efforts made by
many people, especially the patients and doctors who have campaigned for access
to these medicines. We look forward to
more of Aurora's high-quality medicines being approved, so that more patients
can benefit from the MCAP in Ireland. We
will continue to work closely with all parties and state agencies to facilitate
further availability."
Under the new
programme, a consultant can prescribe medical cannabis for patients under their
care who have any of the following medical conditions:
●
Spasticity
associated with multiple sclerosis
●
Intractable
nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy
●
Severe,
refractory (treatment-resistant) epilepsy
The Medical
Cannabis Access Programme was signed into law in June 2019 by Ireland's
Minister for Health, Simon Harris. The programme will facilitate access to
cannabis-based medical products in line with legislation and is scheduled to
run for 5 years.
Inner
Spirit Holdings Ltd. (CSE:ISH), a Canadian company establishing a
national network of retail cannabis stores under its Spiritleaf brand, today announced it is putting its corporate focus solely
on its Spiritleaf retail cannabis brand and will be voluntarily winding-down
its corporate Watch It! retail operations by the end of the year.
Inner Spirit went
public in July 2018 and leveraged the experience that the management team
gained from operating the Watch It! franchise system since it was started in
1999. The Company's Watch It! division, which sells watches and accessories at
select retail locations in Canada, provided the Company with infrastructure,
retail experience, an effective approach to training and franchise relations,
real estate connections, marketing knowledge and brand expertise. As Inner
Spirit has evolved and with the Spiritleaf brand representing 84 percent of the
Company's system-wide retail sales1 in third quarter 2019 financial
results, the Company is executing on its plan to become a pure-play cannabis
retailer.
"We are
advancing the Company's business strategy by rapidly opening Spiritleaf
cannabis retail stores in locations across Canada where permitted by
regulation. We are the industry leader in Canada with 38 Spiritleaf branded
stores operating and we want to continue to build on this momentum. We are
preparing to open additional stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan
and possibly Ontario in 2020. For these reasons, we are voluntarily closing our
corporate Watch It! retail business so we can train our sights fully on the
recreational cannabis business moving forward. We want to be focused solely on
expanding the Company's cannabis retail store network, enhancing our financial
performance, and creating value for our shareholders as a pure-play
recreational cannabis retailer," said Darren Bondar, President and CEO of
Inner Spirit.
The Company plans
to close its corporate Watch It! operations as of December 31, 2019. On
November 29, 2019, Watch It! Consolidated Ltd., the wholly owned subsidiary of
the Company that runs the Watch It! retail operation, filed a Notice of
Intention to Make a Proposal pursuant to the provisions of Division I of Part
III of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada). Additionally, A. Farber
& Partners Inc. has been appointed as trustee in the proposal proceedings.
The Watch It! trademark and website are anticipated to be sold, and it is
expected that a number of Watch It! franchise locations will continue to
operate independently under the brand without any further connection to the
Company or to WIC.
Bondar noted,
"Over the last 20 years, Watch It! has played a special role in helping
thousands of customers mark timely moments and celebrate important milestones.
I'd personally like to thank the customers, staff, suppliers and franchise
partners who have all been part of this family and wish everyone success in the
next chapter. Watch It! has also played an instrumental role as the foundation
for us to build the Spiritleaf network. We'll now focus our efforts exclusively
on Spiritleaf and continue to build it as the premier retail cannabis brand in
Canada."
The Company has a
total of 38 retail cannabis Spiritleaf stores open and operating in Alberta,
British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario. This includes the recent opening of
a franchised Spiritleaf store on November 27, 2019 in Calgary's Sunridge Mall.
Additionally, store openings projected for the coming week include franchised
locations in the Hillhurst community of Calgary and in Cochrane, Alberta as
well as the Company's ninth corporate-owned store located in Edmonton's Garneau
community near the University of Alberta campus. The Company will be entering
the busy holiday shopping season with more than 40 Spiritleaf store locations
serving local communities. Please see www.spiritleaf.ca for more information,
including store locations, opening dates and operating hours.
GTEC
Holdings Ltd. (TSX-V:GTEC) (OTCQB:GGTTF), a multi-licenced producer of premium
indoor flower, announced that it has formally launched its
recreational adult-use brands in the Provinces of British Columbia and
Saskatchewan.
“We set out a
mandate to produce ultra-premium cannabis that is superior to the available
selection in the current legal marketplace, produced from exclusive cultivars,”
said Norton Singhavon, Founder, Chairman and CEO of GTEC. “This product launch
marks a pivotal chapter in our growth and strategy. We are very excited about
our fiscal 2020 year, as we expect to realize significant increases in
production, revenue and gross margins, which we anticipate will drive GTEC into
profitability.”
"Since day
one, it has been our goal to build a brand and product portfolio that caters to
what consumers are searching for; whether new to the market, or legacy cannabis
connoisseurs," said Adil Hirji, Head of Marketing at GTEC. "We are
confident that our meticulous efforts from seed to shelf will separate
ourselves from others, establishing a sustainable competitive advantage while
building consumer loyalty."
Initial orders were
fulfilled and shipped in November to the British Columbia Liquor Distribution
Branch and a private Saskatchewan distributor, with wholesale and retail sales
commencing during the week of November 25, 2019. The purchase orders have
provided GTEC’s products access to 135 retail stores between both Provinces.
The products have been priced amongst the highest tier within BCLDB sales
channels, and promptly sold-out within hours of being available for wholesale
distribution and to public consumers, which demonstrates the robust demand for
GTEC’s products in British Columbia.
A subsequent
purchase order was received from the BCLDB, which is currently being fulfilled
and expected to be delivered this week. The Company expects to continue to
expand its national distribution into other Provinces in the near future.
Launched products
include:
● BLK MKT™:
Born out of passion and dedication to the craft. This brand is for the true
connoisseur, seeking rare top-shelf cultivars with a higher THC.
○ Wedding
Crasher: ultra-premium
quality | GTEC exclusive cultivar
○ Cherry
Punch: ultra-premium
quality | GTEC exclusive cultivar
● Tenzo™: A
balanced lifestyle brand, with a variety of strains that provide a diverse
palette of desired experiences to consumers
○ Purple
Punch 2.0: premium quality |
GTEC exclusive cultivar
○ Cold
Creek Kush: premium
quality | non-exclusive cultivar
The recently
launched products have been produced from GTEC’s exclusive cultivar collection,
with the quality of flowering increasing from premium to ultra-premium,
resulting in a significant increase in GTEC’s selling price. Management
anticipates that its average selling price and sector-leading gross margins(A)
will continue to increase as it realizes economies of scale and transitions its
production to its exclusive cultivar collection.
Bhang
Inc. (CSE: BHNG) (OTCQX: BHNGF), a global cannabis CPG brand company with
an extensive, award-winning portfolio of products, today reported its financial and operating results for
the third quarter ending September 30, 2019.
Over the past
decade, Bhang has become one of the most-recognized brands in cannabis anchored
by our flagship 8X cannabis cup winning chocolate products. Since our official
CSE list date in July, Bhang has faced challenging market headwinds and strong
skepticism driven by reduced investment and downsizing across the cannabis
industry. Despite these challenges, the Company has been laser focused on
evolving its portfolio of branded products within existing categories. Through
the third quarter, Bhang laid the necessary foundational building blocks with
our successful acquisition of Red Ace Organics as well as our announced
partnerships to bring Bhang hemp-derived CBD products across Europe and Puerto
Rico. The Company also increased its U.S. market exposure to seven states, with
Bhang branded THC chocolate bars coming soon to Nevada.
To position the
Company on a strong path to profitability, Bhang is now expressly focused on
rationalizing its current assets, driving efficiencies through cost and
overhead reductions and improving execution on the Company’s existing product
portfolio. As we look forward to 2020, we are confident that the strong
foundation we have built in Q3 and throughout 2019 will allow us to rationalize
our core product offering, gain the trust of new customers and continue growth across
our global retail network.
Investor ideas
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