Debra Borchardt
Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (OTCQX: FFLWF) stock jumped over 6% on news of the company’s rising revenue in the second quarter. The company delivered revenue of $28.6 million including sales of $23.4 million in the retail channel, $4.3 million in the distribution channel, and sales of $0.9 million in the digital retail and analytics channel.
Still, the company reported a net comprehensive loss of $29.1 million, or net loss per share, and on a fully diluted basis of $0.18. the company attributed the loss on expenses of $12.5 million and other expenses of $26.5 million. Other expenses included losses on the revaluation of derivative liabilities of $18.3 million and finance costs of $8.2 million.
“Fire & Flower continues to drive towards delivering positive adjusted EBITDA and during our second quarter of fiscal 2020, we have made meaningful progress towards this critical goal,” shared Trevor Fencott, Chief Executive Officer of Fire & Flower. “We believe the company is well-positioned to expand its footprint in the Ontario market and expects to have access to the necessary capital to support our growth plans. As the cannabis and retail industry continue to adapt to the COVID-19 public health crisis, we will remain on the leading edge of driving consumer engagement in this dynamic environment.”
Looking Ahead
Fire & Flower said that the development of retail stores in the province of Ontario has been affected by the slowdown in the issuance of licenses and store construction due to the COVID-19 public health crisis. The company is currently waiting for licensing at a number of locations in the province and intends to open these stores once final licensing is complete.
Following the end of the quarter, Fire & Flower acquired a flagship downtown Toronto store at 378 Yonge Street. This store is currently open and will be transitioned to the Fire & Flower brand in the coming weeks.
During the onset of the COVID-19 public health crisis, Fire & Flower saw meaningful sales with basket sizes increasing as consumers purchased larger volumes of product. The company said it is now seeing consumer behavior return to normal seasonal levels and increased popularity in large format cannabis products, vapes, beverages, and edibles.
