Debra Borchardt
Organigram Holdings Inc. (OTC: OGRMF) reported a 131% increase in net sales of $12.4 million for the 2018 fiscal year versus $5.4 million in 2017. Sales for the fourth quarter increased 76% to $3.2 million versus last year’s $1.8 million for the same time period. Organigram said that the sales to the adult recreational use market will be reflected in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 which includes the three months ending November 30, 2018.
The company also reported net income of $20.5 million in 2018 up from $(10.9) million in 2017. Most of those gains came from the fourth quarter where Organigram clocked net income of $18 million versus a loss of $2 million for the same quarter last year.
“The importance of 2018 cannot be overstated for Organigram as well as the industry,” said Greg Engel, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are incredibly proud of our ability to meet the challenges of scaling our business in preparation for the adult recreational use market. We are pleased with our progress to date and believe that we have performed well in a highly competitive space while always maintaining a sustainable cost structure. Ultimately, it is our view that our Moncton Campus will be seen as a crown jewel in the industry as it is able to produce consistent, high-quality indoor grown product at scale to support our brands with the lowest dried flower cultivation costs reported to date in Canada.”
Gross margins increased to $52.5 million in 2018 from $(3.3) million in 2017. The company said that excluding fair value adjustments on biological assets, those figures would be $6.5 million and $(1.9) million, respectively.
Registered medical patients increased to 15,730 in 2018 from 7,404 in 2017 or 112%.
Looking Ahead
The company said that its 2019 sales will be dominated by adult recreational use revenue and that the company estimates first-quarter sales alone will top that of the full year for fiscal 2018. This despite only a portion of that quarter will include adult use sales. Organigram went even further and said that second quarter 2019 sales will beat the first quarter based on purchase orders received to date.
Organigram said that it believes that it currently has the leading market share position in the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island with a strong presence in Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland, and Ontario. As a reminder, the company has signed adult-use recreational supply deals or listing agreements with customers in nine out of the ten Canadian provinces (Quebec is the exception) and has already shipped to all nine of those provinces. Quebec remains a target for 2019.
