Ascend Increases Revenue in Q4, but Still Not Profitable

New York-based Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. (CSE: AAWH.U) (OTCQX: AAWH) got leaner and meaner while also expanding its footprint significantly in 2022, but that wasn’t enough to make the company profitable yet.

Despite highlights in 2022 of opening four new stores in three states, transitioning three shops in New Jersey to recreational sales, expanding cultivation capacity by 69,000 square feet, and increasing revenue by more than 22% to $405.9 million, Ascend still lost $15 million in Q4 and almost $81 million for the entire year.

Those losses are down significantly from 2021, however. That year, Ascend lost $16.9 million in the fourth quarter and $122.7 million for the full year. In addition, Q4 2022 revenues shot up 26.7% year-over-year to $112.1 million.

That marks a major improvement and is cause for optimism about the future, asserted Ascend’s executive chairman, Abner Kurtin, who said in a press release that he was “thrilled” with the “record-breaking results” Ascend achieved in 2022.

As of Dec. 31, Ascend had $74.1 million in cash and equivalents to offset its $256.6 million in debts.

Other highlights for 2022, according to the press release, included:

• Launching a new value brand called Simply Herb through its retailers in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey.
• Entering the Pennsylvania market through the acquisition of Story of PA CR, a vertically integrated business with six retail licenses and a cultivation permit.
• Signed off on three more acquisition deals to bring a trio of Ohio dispensaries and two Illinois shops into the Ascend portfolio.

“We are now directing our attention to the objective of generating cash flow in the coming year,” said Ascend co-CEO Dan Neville.