Debra Borchardt
2019 proved to be a challenging year for the companies tied to vape products. Now it looks as if there could be strength in numbers as TILT Holdings Inc. (CSE: TILT) (OTCQB: TLLTF) and its vape subsidiary Jupiter Research, LLC has partnered with vape device company The Blinc Group, LLC.
“Jupiter has always taken pride in being at the forefront of innovation,” said Mark Scatterday, interim CEO at TILT and Founder/CEO of Jupiter. “As the market continues to grow we are excited to announce our partnership with The Blinc Group, enabling bespoke solutions for our clients and leveraging their expertise when it comes to vaporization regulatory and legal compliance legislation.” Just a few weeks ago, TILT was given DTC clearance to trade on the OTCQB Venture Market using the symbol TLLTF.
The Blinc Group makes proprietary cannabis vaping solutions for MSOs and focuses on control of the entire value chain from R&D to product design, to compliance and manufacturing at ISO and cGMP certified facilities with oversight by Blinc’s China-based quality control team. Blinc’s Co-Founder and CEO Arnaud Dumas de Rauly said, “We look forward to working closely with Jupiter and bringing additional value and expertise to their extensive network of clients,” said Mr. Dumas de Rauly. “I am excited to see what the future of cannabis vaping landscape holds when two companies like Jupiter and Blinc work closely together to help shape the new standards and set an example for regulatory compliance as a whole.”
TILT acquired Jupiter Research at the beginning of 2019 in a deal valued at $210 million. At that time Founder Bob Crompton said, “Jupiter Research’s monthly sales continue to increase 15 percent month over month, and we already have US$28M of booked orders going into Q1. The opportunity to combine the synergies of the TILT portfolio of companies is expected to add to our rapid growth.”
For the quarter ending in September 2019 which was reported in November 2019, Jupiter accounted for $32 million in revenue and for the nine months ending in September it was $92 million. It is the largest segment of the TILT Holdings family.
Stock Plunge
Like other cannabis stocks, TILT has seen its shares in the market. It was lately trading at 24 cents on the OTC and 31 cents on the CSE. Canaccord Analyst Bobby Burleson has continued to believe in the company even though he lowered his price target to C$1.50, which seems overly optimistic in hindsight. He wrote, “We believe TILT’s Q3/19 earnings result reflects solid execution of management’s strategy to enhance profitability and grow the company’s core businesses. While we are trimming our near-term estimates on vape related headwinds, with a shored up balance sheet and overall profitability driven by the company’s Massachusetts wholesale business, we continue to expect strong growth and enhanced profitability next year.”
Looking ahead to 202o, the company is focusing on expanding its Jupiter brand and the software company Blackbird. Scatterday said in a recent letter to shareholders, “While 2019 was a challenging year for public companies in our industry, l am encouraged and reassured knowing that we have such a strong and supportive group of people working together with us and toward the same goals.”
