Namaste Technologies Shows Signs of Improvement in 2nd Quarter

There's no question that things have been headed in the wrong direction for Namaste Technologies (NXTTF 4.00%). The cannabis-focused e-commerce technology company booted its CEO out the door earlier this year. Namste's first-quarter results reflected significant deterioration on both the top and bottom lines.

But the company's former chief product officer and founder of e-commerce tools developer Findify, Meni Morim, is now at the helm of Namaste as interim CEO. And he had somewhat better news to report when Namaste announced its second-quarter results on July 18, 2019. Here are the highlights from Namaste's latest quarterly update.

Image source: Getty Images.

Namaste Technologies results: The raw numbers

Data source: Namaste Technologies. All amounts in Canadian dollars. N/A = Not Applicable.

What happened with Namaste Technologies this quarter?

First, the good news. Namaste's year-over-year revenue decline in the second quarter wasn't nearly as bad as the 18.5% drop the company reported in the first quarter. Also, while Namaste's net loss widened from the prior-year period, the company's bottom line didn't look as scary as the CA$10.3 million loss reported in the first quarter.

Unfortunately, there was plenty of bad news as well. Revenue continued to slide on a quarter-over-quarter basis, indicating that Namaste still hasn't completely turned things around. The company noted, however, that its sales reflected "resilience" after the divestiture of its U.S. business.

Namaste's wider net loss in the second quarter stemmed from higher spending -- CA$9.8 million compared to CA$9.3 million in the prior-year period. This increased spending was due to higher staffing costs and professional fees, offset to some extent by a decrease in share-based compensation.

Perhaps the most notable developments for Namaste during the quarter related to its business development activities. Namaste bought more shares of Pineapple Express Delivery, bringing its total stake in the medical cannabis delivery company to 49%. It also entered into an agreement to buy 49% of Choklat as part of a strategy to enter the cannabis edibles market.

What management had to say

Namaste Technologies' interim CEO Meni Morim stated:

We have improved the company's foundations to build the world's most customer-focused cannabis marketplace. From here, we are reprioritizing and refining our investments toward scalability, gaining market share and working capital management. We expect to see these results take shape over the next three to six months with a balanced approach between working capital optimization and the right investments to help the company grow. This is an exciting time in the cannabis market overall and we want to make sure that we're maximizing our opportunities.

He added:

During the quarter, we made technological improvements in our online platform, acquisitions in Pineapple Express and Choklat, and expanded our list of licensed producers on CannMart. As recently announced, we have increased our access to medical cannabis patients through our relationship with ARBR. As part of our strategy to improve the access to and interactivity with license producers, we expect to announce additional producers under our new fee-based or consignment model. This new model allows licensed producers to see Namaste's online marketplace as complementary to their business versus competition. We believe this shift [will] help drive future expansion of our product categories and related SKU's and highlight our commitment to enhancing the customer experience from education to consumption. From a financial standpoint, this system helps reduce the burden on working capital too.

Looking forward

Namaste's efforts to improve and enhance its online platform and its recent acquisitions could make a key difference in the company shifting back into growth mode. It's too soon to know if and how much these efforts will pay off, though.

In the meantime, Namaste's cash position could become an issue in the not-too-distant future. The company ended the second quarter with CA$55.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. That should be enough to carry Namaste through the rest of this year and well into 2020. However, further acquisition activity could mean the company would have to raise more capital sooner.