John Schroyer
Massachusetts-based MariMed Inc. (CSE: MRMD) (OTCQX: MRMD) posted a $4.2 million loss for the third quarter of the year, its worst quarter of 2023 thus far, despite the launch of Maryland recreational cannabis sales in July.
MariMed had $38.8 million in revenue for the quarter, which ended Sept. 30, and $109.7 million year-to-date, but the red ink brought its losses for 2023 to $5.8 million thus far. Last year, the company was solidly in the black after Q3, up $8.8 million in profit.
Revenue was up both sequentially and year-over-year, from $36.5 million and $33.9 million, respectively. Sales also increased for the first nine months of 2023, by almost 12% from $98.2 million, which gave CEO Jon Levine cover to “report another solid quarter of strong revenue growth” in a press release.
“We continue to outperform the greater industry,” Levine said. “Our wholesale business continued to set quarterly sales records, which will continue for the remainder of this year and next. Our balance sheet remains one of the strongest in the industry, and we were particularly pleased with the exponential growth of our Maryland operations with the commencement of adult-use sales on July 1.”
Retail sales in Maryland alone shot up by 88% after recreational sales commenced, MariMed reported, and the wholesale marijuana business also grew by 161%.
Another quarterly highlight for MariMed its publicity stunt in the Boston Harbor with a reenactment of the colonial-era Boston Tea Party, themed as a protest of 280E, the federal tax provision that prevents cannabis companies from claiming standard business deductions.
Following the close of the quarter, MariMed also announced a new dispensary opening in Casey, Illinois. The shop is the company’s fifth in the state and its 12th nationally. MariMed is also still building out both a cannabis processing facility and a grow in Illinois; the processing facility is expected to become operational before the end of the year, but the cultivation won’t be finished until next year.
MariMed updated its financial guidance for shareholders, with new expectations to finish the year with $148 million to $150 million in total revenue, a gross margin of about 45%, and capital expenditures of $22 million to $25 million.
