The market for cannabidiol (CBD) products remains buoyant, at least going by the latest revenue figure published by a leading specialist in such goods, Charlotte's Web Holdings (CWBHF 1.57%).
On Thursday, the company released its fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 results, which revealed that total revenue was $26.9 million for growth on both a quarter-over-quarter (7%) and year-over-year (18%) basis. On the bottom line, net loss for the period was $14.7 million ($0.11 per share), deeper than the $6.6 million of Q3 but narrower than the $18.8 million in the year-ago quarter.
In terms of adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), which happens to be the cannabis industry's favored profitability yardstick, Charlotte's Web was in negative territory, at $2.1 million. That compares quite well to the Q3 shortfall of $6.7 million, and Q4 2019's $10.1 million.
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The company attributed much of the Q4 top-line improvement to what it terms a "competitive pricing realignment" throughout its product portfolio. It said that this helped increase overall unit sales and market share.
Its direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales effort also bore fruit, thanks to marketing pushes and an active presence on social media. All told, DTC sales improved at a 21% clip and comprised nearly 65% of total company revenue. Business-to-business (B2B) sales saw more modest growth but were still in the double digits with a more than 12% rise.
While the upward trajectory of some of those numbers was encouraging, Charlotte's Web isn't growing as hotly as some of its peers that concentrate either more or fully on products packed with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the substance that gets a user high.
On Friday, Charlotte's Web lagged behind the broader stock market, closing the day 0.3% higher against the S&P 500's 1.7% gain.
