- Aurora Cannabis, one of the world’s largest publicly traded marijuana companies, reported a surprise profit Tuesday that sent shares soaring more than 9%.
- The company increased its gross margins thanks to a higher selling price per gram of cannabis.
Aurora Cannabis, the second-largest marijuana producer by market cap, reported a surprise profit on Tuesday as the company eyes a US stock listing.
For its fiscal fourth quarter, Aurora earned 0.40 Canadian dollars, easily beating the 0.03 Canadian dollars loss that analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting. Revenue more than doubled from the same quarter last year, coming in at 19.1 million Canadian dollars, missing the 23 million Canadian dollars that was expected.
Aurora, which trades in Toronto and is tracked via an over-the-counter (OTC) ticker in the US, rose more than 9% in trading Tuesday following the release.
“Aurora made substantial progress toward our strategic goal of becoming the global scale and margin leader in the cannabis industry, establishing a vertically integrated company with a broadly diversified product offering with a large global footprint,” Aurora CEO Terry Booth said in a press release.
“Our high-pace, consistent execution has enabled us to complete a number of transformative acquisitions, bringing together industry-leading companies in terms of scale, quality, efficiencies, plant and medical science, product development and innovation, brands, and international distribution.”
The company’s average selling price for dried cannabis increased to 8.02 Canadian dollars per gram from 7.30 Canadian dollars per gram last quarter, while its production costs rose to 1.70 Canadian dollars from 1.52 Canadian dollars. This increase helped the company’s full-year margins grow to 65% from 56% last year. In total, Aurora said it produced 2.2 million kilograms of cannabis and sold 1.6 million this year.
Shares of Aurora are up 130% since its mid-August low of 4.10. The subsequent rally was fueled in part by reported talks with Coca-Cola to produce a CBD-infused beverage. The company has said it does not comment on exploratory discussions. Wall Street analysts have an average price target of $11 a share, a 10% premium to Monday’s closing price.
Aurora’s surging stock has complicated trading for some investors. After a series of trading halts, US brokerage Robinhood blocked its users from buying new shares of ACBFF — Aurora’s OTC listing — citing issues at its execution venues related to the high demand from customers. Aurora is held by more than 72,000 Robinhood customers, making it the 21st most popular stock on the app’s “Top 100” list.
The cannabis producer plans to file a a Form 40-F with US regulators soon, a regulatory form that Canadian company’s must file to register on an American exchange, a move that will allow it to access more capital on the world’s largest exchanges.
“Listing our shares on a senior U.S. exchange reflects the level of corporate and business maturity and our high-paced execution,” Booth said. “This listing provides access to a broader investor audience who gain the opportunity to participate in our continued success.”
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