Debra Borchardt
After delaying its earnings announcement, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ: ACB) (TSX: ACB) released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2021 ending June 30, 2021. Aurora reported that its revenues in the quarter fell 20% in the quarter to $54.8 million from last year’s $68.4 million for the same time period. Revenue also dropped sequentially from the third quarter’s $55.1 million. The amount of kilograms sold during the quarter fell 32% to 11,346 from last year’s 16,748.
The net loss for the quarter was a whopping $133 million, which is down from the third quarter’s net loss of $160 million and last year’s eye-popping $1.8 billion for the same time period. For the full year, Aurora reported a net loss of $693 million versus 2020’s net loss of $3.2 billion. Aurora said it has identified cash savings of $60 million to $80 million and said it expects to deliver $30 million to $40 million of annualized cash savings within the next year, and the remainder by the end of the second fiscal quarter 2023.
Aurora said that its consumer cannabis net revenue was $19.5 million ($20.2 million excluding provisions), a 45% decrease from $35.3 million ($37.1 million excluding provisions) in the prior year. The company said this was due to a reduction in orders from the Provinces in response to slower consumer demand, reflecting the impact of lockdown restrictions related to COVID-19. “Sequentially, consumer cannabis net revenue increased 8% over the prior quarter mainly due to completion of the transition of our fixed sales force to Great North and a $2.5 million reduction in actual net returns, price adjustments, and provisions as the company completed its product swap initiative to replace the low-quality product with higher potency product at the provinces.
“We are very pleased with our strategic and financial progress in growing our high-margin medical revenue, rationalizing expenses, strengthening our balance sheet, and reducing our cash burn during fiscal year 2021. Given ongoing challenges in the Canadian adult recreational market, our broad diversification across domestic medical, international medical, and adult recreational segments provides us with underlying strength, stability, and growth opportunities in an evolving industry for global cannabinoids. Additionally, our enviable leadership position as the #1 Canadian LP in global medical cannabis by revenue on a trailing twelve-month basis, supported by regulatory and compliance expertise, is a tailwind that we expect to enable us to ultimately expand into global adult recreational as medical regimes evolve” stated Miguel Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Aurora Cannabis.
