Cansortium Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results

– Q4 Revenue up 9% YoY to a Record $25.5 Million

– 9thConsecutive Quarter of Positive Cash Flow from Operations

TAMPA, Fla., April 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cansortium Inc. (CSE: TIUM.U) (OTCQB: CNTMF) (“Cansortium” or the “Company”), a vertically-integrated, multi-state cannabis company operating under the FLUENT™ brand, today announced financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023. Unless otherwise indicated, all financial results are presented in U.S. dollars.

“We delivered record revenue and positive cash flow generation during the fourth quarter as we continued to execute on our growth objectives,” said CEO Robert Beasley. “We are making the critical investments needed to lay the foundation for growth and support our future plans and remain excited about the opportunities ahead.”

“In Florida, we continue to ramp our new dispensaries while driving cultivation improvements, leading to production of more high quality, high THC products. These operating improvements drove higher retail prices and higher average basket size during the quarter.”

“Looking ahead, we will continue to drive improvements across our footprint in Florida and Pennsylvania, while capitalizing on our first mover advantage in Texas as we plan to open our brick-and-mortar delivery center in Houston by early 2025.”

Q4 2023 Financial Highlights (vs. Q4 2022)

  • Revenue increased 9% to $25.5 million compared to $23.4 million.
  • Florida revenue increased 11% to $21.6 million compared to $19.4 million.
  • Adjusted gross profit¹ was $12.6 million or 49.4% of revenue, compared to $0.7 million or 3.1% of revenue.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $6.9 million compared to $7.9 million, with the decrease primarily driven by higher SG&A spend due to additional stores.
  • Cash flow from operations for the three months ended December 31, 2023 was $1.4 million compared to $3.6 million in the prior year.
  • At December 31, 2023 the Company had approximately $10.5 million of cash and cash equivalents and $61.2 million of total debt, with approximately 300 million shares outstanding.

Full Year 2023 Financial Highlights (vs. Full Year 2022)

  • Revenue increased 11% to $97.3 million compared to $87.7 million.
  • Florida revenue increased 11% to $81.2 million compared to $73.0 million.
  • Adjusted gross profit¹ was $49.5 million or 50.9% of revenue, compared to $44.0 million or 50.1% of revenue.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $27.2 million compared to $25.1 million, with the increase primarily driven by higher revenue on higher customer transactions, slightly offset by higher SG&A due to new dispensary locations.
  • Cash flow from operations for the full year ended December 31, 2023 was $18.5 million compared to $19.1 million in the prior year.

Restatement of 2023 Earnings

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company, in consultation with the Company’s management, concluded that the Company’s previously issued consolidated financial statements for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2023, June 30, 2023 and September 30, 2023 contained an error related to the accounting for the following items: 

  • Biological assets: Process errors related to beginning of period balances resulted in a $6.7 million mis-classification of expense between COGS and Realized FV of Inventory. There is no impact to Net Income from this mis-classification, but it does impact Adjusted EBITDA. The affected periods are the first three quarters of 2023.
  • Depreciation: A misclassification led to $2.4 million of Depreciation being booked to SG&A instead of COGS. There is no impact to Net Income or Adjusted EBITDA. The affected periods are the second and third quarters of 2023.
  • ERTC Claim: Due to uncertainties surrounding the ERTC program, the Company has removed income from the $3.4 million sale of its ERTC to a third party. This adjustment impacts Net Income for the third quarter of 2023 but does not impact Adjusted EBITDA.

Recent Operational Highlights

  • In Florida, Cansortium opened four dispensaries during 2023.
  • The Company has opened 2 new locations in Florida thus far in 2024 and currently operates 35 locations in the state.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and live audio webcast today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time to discuss its financial and operational results, followed by a question-and-answer period. Interested parties may submit questions to the Company prior to the call by emailing [email protected].

Date: Monday, April 29, 2024
Time: 4:30 p.m. Eastern time
Toll-free dial-in number: (800) 319-4610
International dial-in number: (604) 638-5340
Conference ID: 10023399
Link: Cansortium Conference Call

Please call the conference telephone number 5-10 minutes prior to the start time. An operator will register your name and organization.

The conference call will also be available for replay via the News & Events section of the Company’s investor relations website at https://investors.getFLUENT.com/.

About Cansortium Inc.

Cansortium is a vertically-integrated cannabis company with licenses and operations in Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas. The Company operates under the Fluent™ brand and is dedicated to being one of the highest quality cannabis companies for the communities it serves. This is driven by Cansortium’s unrelenting commitment to operational excellence in cultivation, production, distribution and retail. The Company is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Cansortium Inc.’s Common Shares trade on the CSE under the symbol “TIUM.U” and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol “CNTMF”. For more information about the Company, please visit www.getFLUENT.com.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this news release may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “targets”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “an opportunity exists”, “is positioned”, “estimates”, “intends”, “assumes”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate” or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “will” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent the Company’s expectations, estimates, and projections regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company’s control.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on many opinions, assumptions, and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in the public documents of the Company available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. For further information: www.getFLUENT.com.

Company Contact
Robert Beasley, CEO
(850) 972-8077
investors.getFLUENT.com

Investor Relations Contact
Trailblaze
[email protected]

 
Cansortium Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022
(Amounts expressed in thousands of United States Dollars unless otherwise stated)
    December 31,
    2023   2022
Assets        
Current assets        
Cash   $ 10,521     $ 8,359  
Trade receivable     215       28  
Inventory, net     9,244       8,973  
Biological assets     331       996  
Prepaid expenses and other current assets     1,882       883  
Total current assets     22,193       19,239  
         
Property and equipment, net     27,642       31,743  
Intangible assets, net     93,593       94,291  
Right-of-use assets, net     31,943       30,464  
Goodwill     1,525       1,526  
Other assets     907       768  
Total assets   $ 177,803     $ 178,031  
         
Liabilities        
Current liabilities        
Trade payable   $ 5,525     $ 6,931  
Accrued liabilities     9,779       5,534  
Income taxes payable     22,009       13,952  
Derivative liabilities     9,109       8,676  
Current portion of notes payable, net     213       741  
Current portion of lease liabilities     2,872       2,123  
Total current liabilities     49,507       37,957  
         
Notes payable, net     61,189       56,969  
Lease liabilities     37,242       33,922  
Deferred tax liability     17,398       20,290  
Other long-term liabilities     3,882       1,333  
Total liabilities     169,218       150,471  
         
Shareholders’ equity        
Share capital     183,690       180,954  
Share-based compensation reserve     6,739       6,395  
Equity conversion feature     6,677       6,677  
Warrants     29,634       28,939  
Accumulated deficit     (217,821 )     (195,071 )
Foreign currency translation reserve     (334 )     (334 )
Total shareholders’ equity     8,585       27,560  
         
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 177,803     $ 178,031  
         
                 
Cansortium Inc.
Statement of Operations
For the twelve months ending December 31, 2023 and 2022
(Amounts expressed in thousands of United States Dollars unless otherwise stated)
    For the Years Ended December 31,
      2023       2022  
Revenue, net of discounts   $ 97,290     $ 87,692  
Cost of goods sold     47,814       43,731  
Gross profit before fair value adjustments     49,476       43,961  
         
Fair value adjustments on inventory sold     12,659       2,622  
Unrealized loss on changes in fair value of biological assets     (14,602 )     (9,620 )
Gross profit     47,533       36,963  
         
Expenses        
General and administrative     10,022       8,288  
Share-based compensation     638       545  
Sales and marketing     20,193       17,510  
Depreciation and amortization     7,414       6,765  
Total expenses     38,267       33,108  
         
Income from operations     9,266       3,855  
         
Other expense (income)        
                 
Finance costs, net     17,941       16,087  
Loss on change in fair value of derivative liability     433       4,716  
Loss on debt settlement           1,136  
Loss (gain) on disposal of assets     (26 )     672  
Loss on lease modifications     67        
Loss from termination of a contract     7       8,011  
Other expense           3  
Total other expense     18,422       30,625  
         
Loss before income taxes     (9,156 )     (26,770 )
         
Income tax expense     13,594       10,376  
         
Net loss from continuing operations     (22,750 )     (37,146 )
         
Net loss from discontinued operations           277  
         
Net loss   $ (22,750 )   $ (37,423 )
         
Other comprehensive gain that may be reclassified to profit or loss in subsequent years        
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations and reporting currency           88  
         
Comprehensive loss   $ (22,750 )   $ (37,335 )
         
Net loss per share        
Basic and diluted – continuing operations   $ (0.08 )   $ (0.15 )
         
Weighted average number of shares        
Basic number of shares     292,622,129       252,698,567  
Diluted number of shares     349,037,476       308,498,834  
Cansortium Inc.
Statement of Operations
For the three months ending December 31, 2023 and 2022
(Amounts expressed in thousands of United States Dollars unless otherwise stated)
    Three months ended
    December 31, 2023
  December 31, 2022
  Variance
         
Revenue, net of discounts   $ 25,544     $ 23,464     $ 2,080  
Cost of goods sold     12,932       22,738       (9,806 )
Gross profit before fair value adjustments(1)     12,612       726       11,886  
Gross margin before fair value adjustments(1)     49.4 %     3.1 %     46.3 %
         
Realized fair value of increments on inventory sold     3,615       27,645       (24,030 )
Unrealized change in fair value of biological assets     (2,883 )     (22,844 )     19,961  
Gross profit     13,344       5,527       7,817  
Gross profit margin     52.2 %     23.6 %     28.7 %
         
Expenses:        
General and administrative     2,436       941       1,495  
Share-based compensation     (6 )     391       (397 )
Sales and marketing     5,265       4,677       588  
Depreciation and amortization     1,634       1,751       (117 )
Total expenses     9,329       7,760       1,569  
         
Income (loss) from operations     4,015       (2,233 )     6,248  
         
Other expense (income):        
Finance costs, net     4,806       4,165       641  
Change in fair market value of derivative     171       (306 )     477  
Loss (gain) on termination of a contract     1       (584 )     585  
Loss on debt settlement     116             116  
(Gain) loss on disposal of assets     (96 )     695       (791 )
Other expense           1       (1 )
Total other expense     4,997       3,971       1,027  
         
Loss before taxes     (983 )     (6,204 )     5,221  
         
Income taxes     3,727       3,209       518  
         
Loss from continuing operations     (4,710 )     (9,413 )     4,703  
         
Loss from discontinued operations           277       (19 )
         
Net loss   $ (4,710 )   $ (9,689 )   $ 4,979  
Cansortium Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow
For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022
(Amounts expressed in thousands of United States Dollars unless otherwise stated)
    For the twelve months ended December 31,
    2023   2022
Operating activities            
Net loss from continuing operations   $ (22,750 )   $ (37,146 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:            
Unrealized loss (gain) on changes in fair value of biological assets   14,602     9,620  
Realized gain on changes in fair value of biological assets   (12,659 )   (2,622 )
Share-based compensation   619     545  
Depreciation and amortization   15,078     13,428  
Accretion and interest of convertible debentures   536     362  
Accretion and interest of term loan   12,873     12,232  
Interest income on notes receivable       (71 )
Interest on insurance financing   48      
Loss on disposal of assets   255     672  
Loss on debt settlement       1,136  
Loss on termination of contract       8,011  
Change in fair market value of derivative   433     4,716  
Interest on lease liabilities   4,473     3,612  
Deferred tax expense   (2,892 )   (1,273 )
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:            
Trade receivable   (187 )   (2 )
Inventory   15,596     11,927  
Biological assets   (17,145 )   (16,355 )
Prepaid expenses and other current assets   (999 )   404  
Right of Use Assets/Liabilities   (3,698 )   197  
Other assets   661     (137 )
Trade payable   (1,404 )   (1,208 )
Accrued liabilities   4,409     (811 )
Other long-term liabilities   2,549      
Income taxes payable   8,057     11,832  
Net cash provided by operating activities   18,455     19,069  
             
Investing activities            
Purchases of property and equipment   (6,019 )   (6,799 )
Purchase of intangible assets   (319 )    
Payment of notes receivable       119  
Advances for notes receivable       (94 )
Net cash used in investing activities   (6,338 )   (6,774 )
             
Financing activities            
Net proceeds from issuance of shares and warrants   2,992      
Proceeds from issuance of convertible debenture and warrants       4,660  
Net proceeds from insurance financing        
Payment of lease obligations   (2,381 )   (5,771 )
Net proceeds from equipment loan       748  
Exercise of options       135  
Issuance of shares for note payable extension       162  
Principal repayments of notes payable   (10,566 )   (12,982 )
Net cash used in financing activities   (9,955 )   (13,048 )
Effect of foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents       88  
Net increase (decrease) in cash   2,162     (665 )
Cash, beginning of year   8,359     9,024  
Cash, end of year   $ 10,521     $ 8,359  

 

Cansortium Inc.
Adjusted EBITDA Calculation
(Amounts expressed in thousands of United States Dollars unless otherwise stated)
     
    Year ended
    December   December
 
      31, 2023       31, 2022     Variance
Net loss   $ (22,750 )   $ (37,423 )   $ 14,673  
Interest expense     17,941       16,087       1,854  
Income taxes     13,594       10,376       3,218  
Depreciation and amortization     15,078       13,666       1,412  
EBITDA   $ 23,863     $ 2,706     $ 21,157  
         
         
    Year ended
    December   December  
      31, 2023       31, 2022     Variance
EBITDA   $ 23,863     $ 2,706     $ 21,157  
Change in fair value of biological assets     1,943       6,998       (5,055 )
Change in fair market value of derivative     433       4,716       (4,283 )
Gain on debt settlement(1)           1,136       (1,136 )
Loss on termination of contract(1)     7       8,011       (8,004 )
Share-based compensation     638       545       93  
Discontinued operations(1)                  
Loss (gain) on disposal of assets(1)     (26 )     673       (699 )
Income from ERTC tax credit(1)                  
Loss on sale of ERTC tax credit(1)                  
Other non-recurring expense (income)(2)     327       278       48  
Adjusted EBITDA   $ 27,183     $ 25,063     $ 2,121  

_____________________________
¹ Adjusted gross profit is a non-IFRS financial measure that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The Company calculates adjusted gross profit from gross profit plus (minus) the changes in fair value of biological assets, as presented in the consolidated statement of operations.


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