Save the best for last? That's what shareholders of Canopy Growth (CGC 20.65%) were hoping for as they awaited the latest quarterly update from the world's largest cannabis producer by market cap.
Canopy's peers, including Aurora Cannabis, Cronos Group, and Tilray, already reported their results for the last quarter. Investors were eager to find out if Canopy's Q4 numbers would dazzle even more than the other big Canadian cannabis producers' revenue numbers did.
Canopy Growth announced its fiscal 2019 fourth-quarter results after the market closed on Thursday. Here's what you need to know about the company's Q4 update.
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The good news
Canopy's most anticipated number announced Thursday evening was its Q4 net revenue of 94.1 million Canadian dollars. This total reflected a 313% year-over-year jump and was 13% higher than net revenue posted in the previous quarter. It also narrowly beat the consensus analyst revenue estimate of CA$93.7 million.
As expected, sales to the Canadian adult-use recreational cannabis market generated most of the company's growth. Canopy reported recreational cannabis revenue of CA$68.9 million. This amount more than doubled the CA$29.6 million in recreational cannabis sales reported by Aurora Cannabis in its last quarter. There's no doubt that Canopy Growth continues to reign as king in the Canadian market.
The company received a nice boost to its top line from its acquisition of German vaporizer device maker Storz & Bickel in December 2018. Storz & Bickel, along with other sources including extraction services and clinical partnerships, contributed an additional $34 million in growth for Canopy in Q4.
Canopy also continued to enjoy a huge cash stockpile, thanks to its big investment from Constellation Brands and its senior convertible note offering last year. The company reported cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaling CA$4.5 billion as of March 31, 2019.
The bad news
Not everything about Canopy Growth's Q4 update was so great. The company's gross recreational cannabis sales in the quarter of CA$68.9 million were nearly 4% lower than they were in Q3.
Medical cannabis sales also headed in the wrong direction. Canopy reported total Canadian medical cannabis sales in Q4 of CA$11.6 million, a 41% decrease from the previous quarter. The company attributed this decline to a transition of several of its brands to the recreational market and product supply challenges that have now been resolved.
Canopy also saw international medical cannabis sales slip. It announced international medical cannabis gross revenue of CA$1.6 million in Q4. That reflected a 25% year-over-year drop. Canopy said that European sales were negatively impacted by supply challenges in Canada, with the company prioritizing its Canadian customers.
The ugliest number in Canopy Growth's Q4 results was its net loss of CA$323.4 million, or CA$0.98 per share. This reflected significant deterioration from the net loss of CA$54.4 million, or CA$0.31 per share, in the prior-year period.
It also was a big swing from the company's earnings of CA$74.9 million, or CA$0.22 per share, posted in the third quarter. That nice profit came with an asterisk, though: It was a result of the fair value of Canopy's senior convertible notes decreasing significantly because its share price dropped in Q3.
What's next
Perhaps the best news for Canopy Growth in its Q4 results was that good things are on the way. Canopy doubled its harvest size from Q3 to Q4 and expects another doubling from Q4 to Q1. It also expects its Danish production to come online in 2019.
At the same time, the company looks for increased sales as brick-and-mortar retail locations open in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. In addition, Canopy has begun to sell medical cannabis in new markets, including Australia. And with additional capacity in its Canadian and Danish facilities, the company should have significantly more product to sell in key European markets.
Canopy also made another announcement on Thursday that should be important to its future fortunes. Shareholders of both Acreage Holdings and Canopy voted to approve the agreement for Canopy to acquire Acreage pending changes to U.S. federal marijuana laws. This sets the stage for Canopy to enter the U.S. marijuana market if and when those laws are revised.
