Aurora Cannabis (ACB 18.15%) was lively in after-hours trading on Thursday, following release of its second-quarter 2021 figures following market close.

The high-profile Canadian marijuana company's net revenue for the period was just under 67.7 million Canadian dollars ($53.3 million), which was down marginally from the previous quarter's results, but 23% higher on a year-over-year basis. 

Meanwhile, the comprehensive net loss came in at nearly CA$302 million ($238 million), or CA$1.74 ($1.37) per share. This put it between the first-quarter shortfall of CA$106 million ($83 million) and the CA$1.3 billion ($1.0 million) of the year-ago quarter.

Gloved hand holding marijuana leaf in front of Canadian flag.

Image source: Getty Images.

Encouragingly, both of Aurora's main product categories -- recreational marijuana and medical product -- saw healthy annual rises. For the former, this was 25%, helped by a CA$1.7 million ($1.3 million) sequential improvement in the sale of derivatives such as edibles and vapes.

The medical segment, the larger of the two in terms of sales for the company, grew 42%. This is particularly heartening given that medical cannabis has significantly higher margins than its recreational counterpart. International sales were the fuel that lit the rocket, as a growing market abroad boosted Aurora's medical take by 562%.

The company didn't hesitate to point out that its use of cash has fallen dramatically, with a 74% year-over-year chop to CA$70.5 million ($55.5 million) for the quarter. At the end of the period, it had CA$565 million ($445 million) in cash on its books.

In early after-hours trading Thursday, Aurora stock was up by more than 8%, well ahead of the gain in the S&P 500 during standard market hours.