Debra Borchardt
Cresco Labs Inc. (OTCQX: CRLBF) released its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2020, with revenue hitting $153.3 million. This was a 63% sequential increase over the second-quarter revenue of $93 million and an even bigger jump over last year’s revenue of $36 million for the 2019 third quarter. This also easily beat the Yahoo Finance average analyst estimate for revenue of $115 million. Cresco Labs attributed the increase in revenue to wholesale growth driven by an increase in harvests from expanded capacity in Illinois and Pennsylvania and strong growth in California. Retail growth was driven by strong sequential same-store growth and two new store openings in Illinois.
The company also delivered a net income of $4.9 million for the quarter versus last year’s net loss of $85 for the same time period last year.
“Cresco Labs entered the third quarter firing on all cylinders achieving record levels of revenue, profitability, and cash flow. We remain the number one operator in the industry focused on, and delivering results in, the wholesale distribution of branded products. Our retail is outperforming, and we are generating substantial operating leverage,” said Charles Bachtell, Co-founder and CEO of Cresco Labs. “Comparing Q1 to Q3, we increased revenue by $87 million while keeping SG&A flat. The investments we made to support growth are paying off, and as a result our profitability has grown dollar for dollar with gross profit. Because of the decisions we’ve made, the changes we’ve managed through and the hard work devoted by our team over the last 12 months, Cresco Labs has substantiated itself within the very top tier of the industry and confirmed the value that is driven by our differentiated strategy. This is a unique story of strategic breadth, depth and execution. As we look toward our next phase of growth, it’s rinse and repeat – the playbook will be applied to more states and, again, we will achieve meaningful, material market positions.”
Operational gross profit as a percentage of revenue was 53%in the quarter as compared to 47% in the prior quarter driven by increased efficiency in our expanded Illinois and Pennsylvania facilities. The adjusted EBITDA was $46.4 million, which was an increase of 182% sequentially driven primarily by higher revenue, increased operational gross profit across our largest markets and strong SG&A control which dropped dramatically as a percentage of revenue.
The company also noted that its net cash provided by operating activities was $17.8 million, compared to $9.9 million used in Q2. The increase in cash provided by operating activities was driven by increased operating leverage across the business as the Company scales.
