Aurora Reports Net Loss of $980M

Canadian licensed producer Aurora Cannabis reported a net loss of about US$980 million for the fiscal second quarter with net revenues of US$47.7 million, down from US$53.4 million in fiscal quarter one. The company also reported its international medical cannabis revenues fell sharply from about US$3.8 million last quarter to about US$1.5 million this quarter. The company attributed the drop to “a temporary sales interruption.”

Company stocks, however, were still on the rise on Thursday after the financial report’s release.

Aurora Chief Financial Officer Glen Ibbott said in a statement, despite the massive losses, the company was “confident” that its run-rate would be “approximately CAD$40 million to CAD$45 million” by the end of the fiscal fourth quarter. Ibbott said the recent “transformation actions” taken by the company last week “already positively impacted SG&A expense.”

Those changes included the retirement of co-founder and CEO Terry Booth and the addition of two new independent directors. Executive Chairman Michael Singer was named interim CEO and the company said it was implementing a “business transformation plan.”

“Consistent with Aurora’s release dated February 6, 2020; the Company is bullish on the long-term potential for the global cannabis opportunity. However, due to several short-term factors, there is likely to be a slower than previously expected rate of industry growth in the near-term.” – Aurora, in a press release

During the fiscal quarter, Aurora produced 30,691 kilograms of cannabis, compared to 41,436 during the quarter prior – a 26 percent decrease that the company said was “primarily due to previously announced changes to cultivation strategies, including a pivot to high-value, high-potency strains which are lower yielding.”

The company expects its quarter three results to “show modest to no growth” relative to the quarter two report.