Delta, Kelowna, BC, April 15, 2020 (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:
Read this in full
at https://www.investorideas.com/news/2020/cannabis-potcasts/04151XLY-APHA-RLV-FAF-NEPT.asp
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 public and
private company announcements.
Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (TSXV: XLY), a leading consumer
packaged goods company in the derivative cannabis market, announced that its
wholly-owned subsidiary Dosecann LD Inc. has entered into an agreement
with Medical Cannabis by Shoppers Drug Mart Inc., a subsidiary of Shoppers Drug
Mart Inc., to become a supplier of cannabis products through its online
platform. The agreement will see Auxly’s suite of products and brands,
including chewables, chocolates, vapes and oil in a bottle, all developed and
manufactured at Dosecann, available to consumers across Canada. Dosecann has
completed its initial shipment of cannabis products to Shoppers.
“Having our diverse cannabis product offering
with Shoppers allows us to reach a wide group of patients across the country
with our quality, science-backed products,” said Hugo Alves, CEO of Auxly. “We
are proud to partner with Shoppers and look forward to bringing their customers
our products, built on Dosecann’s pillars of quality, safety and efficacy.”
Greg Boone, CEO of Dosecann, added: “Our team at
Dosecann prides itself on manufacturing products backed by science and advanced
research and development to ensure that consumers get the high-quality cannabis
products that they need. We think this achievement is a testament to the
extraordinary team that we’ve assembled and the rigor and precision that we
apply to product development and manufacturing.”
The agreement is for a three-year term, subject
to renewal for an additional two years.
CannaTrac® Technology, Inc., the leading
cashless payment solution for the cannabis and hemp industries, announced today that it has
established CTI Processing, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary. CTI
Processing aims to provide fair rates and security to merchants who are
currently overpaying for necessary services and/or are at risk of being shut
off.
CTI Processing offers customized solutions to
merchants that range from low-risk to high-risk. The Company provides
end-to-end payment processing and merchant services, the most up-to-date
equipment and state-of-the-art technology for a streamlined payment
process.
“We understand that just because a company is in
a high-risk industry, that does not necessarily mean that they are a high-risk
client,” said CannaTrac Vice Chairman and CEO Thomas Gavin IV. “High-risk
merchants pay extremely high fees and we want to support them in increasing
their profit margins by reducing those costs.”
Additionally, CTI Processing has specifically
designed its offerings to lower merchant processing-related fees and reduce
financial risks for merchants. High-risk merchants may include, but are not
limited to, companies in the following industries: accounting/tax preparation,
nutraceuticals, CBD/Hemp, credit repair, debt consolidation, electronics,
non-profit organizations and property management.
Aphria Inc., (TSX: APHA) (NYSE: APHA) a leading global
cannabis company, reported its financial results for the third
quarter ended February 29, 2020.
"We are proud of our sustained growth in
Canada and continued expansion of our international capabilities," stated
Irwin D. Simon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "During this
unprecedented time, the well-being of our employees, patients, consumers,
partners and the communities we operate in is our primary focus. Our
facilities, offices and patient care teams remain open and operational to
continue to provide our patients and consumers with what we believe is
best-in-class care and service with appropriate measures in place to protect
the health and safety of employees. As we face uncertain times, I am proud of
how the Aphria team has come together to navigate these uncharted waters. Going
forward, we believe Aphria continues to be differentiated in the cannabis
industry through our brands, cultivation expertise, high quality standards,
cash position and balance sheet. We continue to focus on the highest return
opportunities for growth and long-term value creation."
Some of the key operational highlights were:
·
Gross revenue for adult-use cannabis of $44.7 million in the
third quarter, an increase of 54% from prior quarter and the 5th
consecutive quarter of growth.
·
Net cannabis revenue of $55.6 million in the third quarter,
an increase of 65% from prior quarter.
·
Net revenue of $144.4 million in the third quarter, an
increase of 96% from prior year quarter and increase of 20% from prior quarter.
·
Operating income of $8.7 million in the third quarter,
compared to a loss of $9.6 million in the prior quarter.
·
Net income of $5.7 million, or $0.02 per share, and adjusted
EBITDA of $5.7 million in the third quarter.
·
Adjusted EBITDA from cannabis operations of $6.0 million in
the third quarter, an increase of 78% from the prior quarter.
·
Ended third quarter with a strong balance sheet and
liquidity, including $515.1 million of cash and cash equivalents, to fund
planned Canadian and International growth.
·
Received its European Union Good Manufacturing Practices
("EU GMP") certification, from the Malta Medicines Authority
("MMA") at the Company's subsidiary, ARA - Avanti Rx Analytics, as
well as the GMP annex at the Company's Aphria One facility, allowing the
Company to begin to supply medical cannabis across the European Union and
bolstering the Company's international export capabilities.
·
Equity raise of $100 million, further strengthening the
balance sheet.
The pandemic and its impact on the economy is
constantly evolving and presents too many variables and contingencies to
accurately forecast the Company's fourth quarter results. For instance any one
of the following could have material impacts on Aphria's anticipated fourth
quarter revenue levels: (i) the United Kingdom government, or any EU government
of a country that materially supplies CC Pharma, closes its border to exports;
(ii) either the Alberta or Ontario government implements a more restrictive 'shelter
in place program' or materially adjusts its anticipated sales orders; (iii)
current 'pantry loading' sales levels in Quebec reverse to pre-pandemic sales
levels; (iv) the Alberta, Ontario or Quebec government eliminate or scale-back
delivery methods for retail sales as part of a stronger 'shelter in place
program'; (v) the Company's Leamington or Densborn facilities face greater than
current levels of employee absences reasons related to COVID-19; and/or (vi)
the Company's supply chain partners materially increase their prices or
experience unanticipated material disruptions to their business or chose to
implement policy changes affecting Aphria in light of 'shelter in place
programs'. Without clarity on the Company's expected revenue levels, it is improbable
to accurately forecast EBITDA levels on these revised revenue levels. For all
of the factors surrounding the growing uncertainty and the near-term financial
impact of the pandemic, the Company is suspending its previously announced
guidance for revenue, of $575 million to $625 million, and adjusted EBITDA, of
$35 million to $42 million, for fiscal 2020. The Company intends to re-instate
its annual guidance once the pandemic stabilizes, which may not be until a
point in the Company's Fiscal 2021 year.
Relevium Technologies Inc. (TSXV: RLV) (OTC: RLLVF) announced that its new line of
Bioganix® CleanCare hand sanitizers has been met with very strong pre-sales
demand of approximately one quarter of a million dollars ($250,000) since the
product was made available on April 9, 2020.
Last week, on April 9, 2020, the Company
announced it had launched its pre-order platform for its 8oz format of
CleanCare of hand sanitizers on a pre-order first-come, first-served basis,
making the product available, making the new product available in Canada and
US.
“We are very pleased with the initial reception
of our Bioganix® CleanCare hand sanitizers, at a time when a new standard for
social interactions and personal care is in development,” stated Aurelio
Useche, CEO of Relevium. Commenting further, Mr. Useche said, “The launch of
our hand sanitizer is also a major milestone for Bioganix® as it is also the
fist time its trusted brand has been made available to the Canadian market.”
Super Anytime Inc. announced the launch of Super
Anytime in the province of Ontario. Effective today, consumers of legal age
across the province will be able to order adult-use cannabis for
click-and-collect from their favourite licensed retailers, starting with
Superette located in Ottawa. In accordance with the Alcohol and Gaming
Commission of Ontario's Information Bulletin released April 7, 2020, with
respects to temporary delivery and curb-side pick-up guidance, Super's launch
today in the province of Ontario will permit both curb-side pick-up and
first-party delivery as fulfillment options on the platform.
"We're very excited about the launch of our
Super platform in our home province of Ontario," said Ian Delves,
President and Co-Founder of Super. "We've demonstrated success in building
our compliant alcohol ordering platform, Boozer, here in Ontario, and look to
expand on that success with Super's continued rollout across Canada," he
added.
Through Super, the Company is replicating its
existing technology platform and capabilities for on-demand alcohol Boozer, to
service Canada's evolving adult-use cannabis market. Super seeks to be
consumers' preferred option for ordering legal adult-use cannabis by providing a
consolidated view of retailers. The e-commerce platform presents a convenient,
reliable, and enjoyable order experience that is configured easily with first
and third-party delivery through licensed retailers, all in a manner that is
compliant with provincial regulations.
The Super platform not only offers consumers a
convenient and safe way for ordering adult-use cannabis, but is geared to
generate increased order volumes and drive value-add for participating retail
partners, providing a full turn-key solution in Super. "As Ontario
retailer's face the need to adapt to today's challenging environment, the
technical flexibility of the Super platform addresses our mission of continuing
to allow our valued customers to order cannabis products, and have their orders
fulfilled in a safe manner," commented Mimi Lam, CEO of Superette.
"The continued roll-out of the Super
platform is a testament to our team's ability to scale our technology
effectively, even with the backdrop of quickly varying regulations amidst this
challenging period," commented Michael Kniazeff, CEO and Co-Founder of
Super. Kniazeff added "we are extremely pleased with the successful
integration with Superette, and are looking forward to announcing future
partnerships with additional licensed retailers in the province of Ontario, and
across Canada. Our mission is to help the retail sector in Canada and provide
technology allowing retailers to operate consumer-facing businesses in a safe
manner."
We hold the safety of our users and retail
partners paramount, and we are determined to continue providing opportunities
for consumers of legal-age to order cannabis products from their favourite
licensed retail stores throughout the continuation of the COVID-19 public
health challenge. Moreover, we are working expeditiously with a number of
additional retailers and share a common goal of continuing services, wherever
possible, to customers during this challenging period.
Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX: FAF) and its
wholly-owned subsidiary Fire & Flower Inc., today announced that its stores in
Ottawa and Kingston, Ontario will offer online ordering, payment and home
delivery through the Spark Rapid Delivery service available through Spark
Perks™.
Customers
in Ontario are able to begin placing orders for online delivery starting
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 with deliveries beginning on Thursday, April 16.
Online delivery will be provided to customers in the core urban areas of Ottawa
and Kingston. Delivery on orders over $50.00 will be provided free of charge to
customers. Details on the free home delivery service is available on the Fire
& Flower website at www.fireandflower.com.
The
Government of Ontario announced an emergency order that was approved by the
provincial cabinet on April 7, 2020 that allows cannabis retail stores to
safely operate through online, curbside pickup and home delivery services for
the duration of the emergency order on business closures in relation to
COVID-19.
"Fire
& Flower is grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate how private retail
can provide best-in-class home delivery services in a safe and responsible
manner to cannabis consumers during the current public health crisis,"
shared Trevor Fencott, Chief Executive Officer of Fire & Flower.
"Ensuring that residents of Ontario have access to safe, legal cannabis is
key to eliminating the illegal, unregulated market and is a positive step in
protecting public health. The Hifyre digital retail platform's ability to
rapidly adapt to changes in customer service is a key differentiator in
maintaining continuity of business for Fire & Flower."
Customers
are also able to shop at Fire & Flower in Ontario and Saskatchewan through
curbside pickup offered within the Spark Fastlane™ service. Fire & Flower
has already proven its successful deployment of curbside pickup and delivery
services in the province of Saskatchewan and stands poised to offer these
services in other provinces, as regulations permit.
Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. (TSX: NEPT) (NASDAQ: NEPT), announced today the appointment of
Caroline Fontein as E-Commerce Manager to lead and grow Neptune's
direct-to-consumer e-commerce business across its Forest Remedies and Ocean
Remedies brands, as well as future consumer brands.
Ms. Fontein joins Neptune from SmartyPants
Vitamins, a leading vitamin and supplements brand, where she served as Digital
Marketing & Communications Manager. At SmartyPants, she was
responsible for leading highly-successful digital marketing and communication
strategies and managing campaign budgets on multiple platforms to support brand
and sales goals, deliver ROI and ensure best-in-class user experience across
all paid and organic consumer touch points.
"As we execute our direct-to-consumer
strategy with our Forest Remedies and Ocean Remedies brands, and build a broad
portfolio of health and wellness brands across multiple product categories, it
is critical that we have the right e-commerce team, infrastructure and strategy
in place to drive consumer demand, long-term loyalty and greater return on
capital," said Michael Cammarata, Chief Executive Officer of Neptune Wellness
Solutions. "Caroline brings significant relevant experience in
digital marketing, vitamins, supplements and nutraceuticals, and will play a
key role in driving our strategy of getting closer to the consumer with
mission-driven health and wellness brands and products."
Neptune's e-commerce strategy includes enhancing
its paid and organic digital marketing initiatives across online search and
social media platforms to drive growth of the Company's CPG brands in key
health and wellness markets, including nutraceuticals, personal care and home
care. As part of its digital strategy, Neptune has partnered with Google's
Growth Acceleration Team and was recently granted approval to advertise its
products, including hemp-derived products, on Google's advertising platforms.
Cammarata continued, "We believe our
direct-to-consumer strategy is even more relevant in light of COVID-19 as we
anticipate an acceleration in e-commerce business over the coming months and
years. We're also very excited to partner with Google's Growth
Acceleration Team and look forward to reaching consumers with both our hemp and
non-hemp products on their dynamic platform."
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