Shares of Aurora Cannabis Inc (NASDAQ: ACB) are trading down in extended hours after the cannabis company reported disappointing results for its fiscal first quarter.
CEO Miguel Martin’s remarks
On the bright side, though, the Canadian company reiterated its commitment to positive adjusted EBITDA by the end of 2022. In the earnings press release, CEO Miguel Martin also said:
We’re on track to achieving up to $170 million in annualised cost savings by Dec 31st. Our strengthened balance sheet and strong cash position has facilitated early repurchases of convertible debt of C$213 million.
Aurora Cannabis ended the quarter with C$393 million in cash. It’s noteworthy of those interested in buying Aurora Cannabis stock that the Wall Street currently rates it at “hold”.
Notable figures in Aurora Cannabis’ Q1 results
- Lost C$51.9 million versus the year-ago C$11.9 million
- Revenue tanked 18% year-on-year to C$49.3 million
- Consensus was C$33.7 million loss on C$52.6 million sales
Medical and recreational cannabis sales were down 23% and 28% versus last year, respectively. Sequentially, though recreational cannabis was up 9.0%. A day earlier, two more U.S. states voted to legalise recreational marijuana.
What contributed to the weak Q1 performance
Aurora narrowed its net loss on a quarter-over-quarter basis as well; though revenue was in the red even sequentially. CEO martin added:
Through profitable growth opportunities, particularly in our high-margin global medical cannabis business, disciplined capital deployment, and completion of cost structure rationalisation, we’re well-positioned to enhance long-term value of our company.
Aurora Cannabis Inc blamed cyberattack at its online Ontario Cannabis store and strike in British Columbia that pushed it into temporarily closing stores for the weak performance in Q1. Its $38 million acquisition of Thrive Cannabis, however, did help on the sales front.
The cannabis stock is now down more than 75% for the year.