Jan 28, 2019

Organigram's Q1 net revenue gets boost from recreational pot sales

Marijuana plants at OrganiGram in Moncton, N.B.

Security Not Found

The stock symbol {{StockChart.Ric}} does not exist

See Full Stock Page »

MONCTON, N.B. -- Licensed cannabis producer Organigram Holdings Inc. (OGI.V) says net revenue in its latest quarter hit $12.4 million, up from $2.4 million from a year earlier, due to the launch of recreational pot sales in October.

Organigram says its sales during the three-month period ended Nov. 30 marked a record quarterly high and amounted to more than what the company has historically sold to medical patients in an entire year.

The Moncton-based company also reported that during what was its financial first quarter it sold 1.7 million grams of dried flower, up from 195,075 grams during the same period a year earlier.

The company's latest earnings comes after Statistics Canada reported cannabis retail sales across the country in November totalled $54 million, up from $43.1 million during the roughly two weeks of legal pot sales starting on October 17.

The pot producer's expenses also more than doubled to $5.5 million in the latest quarter from $2.6 million during the same period a year earlier as industry players ramped up their marketing spend ahead of legalization.

Organigram also reported net income from continuing operations of $29.5 million, up from a net loss of $1.2 million a year ago.

Analyzing the performance of marijuana companies is difficult because of accounting rules used in the agriculture industry that require companies to put a value on their pot plants before they are harvested, and approaches differ between producers on how to apply these guidelines.

Cannabis Canada is BNN Bloomberg’s in-depth series exploring the stunning formation of the entirely new – and controversial – Canadian recreational marijuana industry. Read more from the special series here and subscribe to our Cannabis Canada newsletter to have the latest marijuana news delivered directly to your inbox every day.