Video Staff
This week the New York group tasked with raising funds for the social equity applicants saw their contract canceled. The group apparently had investment interests in companies that were applying for licenses. It’s yet another setback for the New York program that has struggled to keep the ambitious justice program moving forward.
Also in New York this week, regulators rolled back the stringent requirements for cannabis testing after cultivators said they would likely not pass with the previous measures.
Earnings season is kicking off with Green Thumb Industries (OTC: GTBIF) posting positive results that beat analysts’ expectations, with record revenue showing the demand for cannabis even as profits shrink industrywide. Green Thumb reported third-quarter revenue of $261.2 million, up 2.7% sequentially and up 11.8% from the prior-year period.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG) announced that sales fell by 33% in the fourth quarter to $493.6 million reflecting decreases in both major business segments. The hydroponic division of Hawthorne saw its sales decline by 49% to $168.5 million, compared with $329.1 million during the same period last year.
Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (NYSE: IIPR) pulled in revenue of almost $71 million in the third quarter of 2022, with a net income of $37.3 million, but its stock price continues to suffer along with much of the cannabis industry. Revenue was up 32% from the same period in 2021, IIPR reported, though it did run into some issues with rent collection by a pair of tenants in California.
Hexo reported fourth-quarter net revenue of $42.5 million, an increase of 10% compared to $38.8 million in the 2021 fourth quarter. net revenue for the full year was $191.1 million, The net loss for the full year was an eye-popping $1 billion versus last year’s net loss of $115 million.
And finally this week HighTimes Holding Corp. is suing the people it bought the High Times Magazine from, saying the former owners lied during negotiations, which caused damages in excess of $10 million. This complaint was filed on Oct. 27, a day after HighTimes Holding Corp.’s deadline for signing an investment agreement that would’ve bailed the company out of its financial predicament. Part of the HighTimes financial pressure was due to the money it owed on the original purchase of the magazine. For now, it’s unknown whether this case will work as a delay tactic for the money owed to its lender. High Times has until November 15 to make payments to satisfy its debt holders.
