Debra Borchardt
Cresco Labs Inc. (CSE: CL) (OTCQX: CRLBF) reported that its second-quarter revenue rose 253% to $29.9 million over last year in its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2019. The revenue rose 42% sequentially. The company attributed the increase in revenue to new market expansion and continued growth in existing markets with a higher revenue generated in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California.
Cresco Labs also delivered a net loss of $3.9 million versus last year’s net income of $1.6 million for the same period. The net loss was blamed on an income tax expense of $5.6 million, primarily driven by discrete tax items related to the legal close of the acquisitions of MedMar Inc. and PDI Medical.
“We delivered an outstanding quarter that reflects the leading positions we have established in some of the most attractive markets in the cannabis industry,” said Charles Bachtell, Co-founder and CEO of Cresco Labs. “We are seeing accelerating revenue growth driven primarily by market share gains and strong trends in registered patients in our established markets of Illinois and Pennsylvania, as well as our expanded presence and distribution in California. As we scale our operations in our established markets, we are seeing the positive impact on gross profit margin that we projected. The higher revenue and margins helped to drive a substantial increase in Adjusted EBITDA compared to the prior quarter.
The second quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $14.5 million versus $4.8 million in the prior-year period. Excluding the impact of biological assets, adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $2.3 million.
It was a very expensive quarter as total expenses came to $20.6 million versus $3.2 million last year for the same quarter. The company said total expenses included $3.0 million in expenses related to share-based incentive compensation, $3.2 million in acquisition and other non-recurring costs and $0.9 million of depreciation and amortization. The balance of the increase represented investments made in talent and operational infrastructure to support the Company’s continued revenue growth
“While our increasing profitability demonstrates our ability to effectively execute and leverage the attractive model we have developed, we continue to operate with a long-term perspective and make investments to position Cresco Labs to lead the cannabis industry in the years to come. We are transforming the retail cannabis experience with the national rollout of our Sunnyside* dispensaries, expanding into the CBD market with the launch of our WellBeings product line, and expanding our cultivation and retail operations in Illinois to capitalize on adult-use legalization beginning in 2020. As we continue to capitalize on the strong organic growth trends in our current markets and complete our pending acquisitions of Origin House and VidaCann, we expect to deliver continued improvement in revenue and profitability, resulting in further value being created for our shareholders,” said Mr. Bachtell.
Balance Sheet
As of June 30, 2019, Cresco Labs had total assets of $355.0 million, including cash and cash equivalents of $61.1 million and a working capital position of $128.7 million with zero debt on the balance sheet.
