Shares of Canadian marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis Inc. fell 29%.
Bloomberg reported that Aurora Cannabis Inc., the Edmonton-based company, incurred $3.3 billion in losses in its 2020 fiscal year, including $1.86 billion in its latest quarter due to large impairment charges. Shares tumbled to the lowest level since 2016 when Canada was still two years away from legalizing recreational marijuana use. Results prompted an MKM Partners analyst to tell the company: “Please stop growing so much weed.”
Miguel Martin, who was named CEO on Sept. 8, conceded that the company has slipped from its top position in the Canadian consumer cannabis market. “The company really was distracted in a lot of ways by the reset both on the people side and on the production side,” Martin told analysts. “All I can say is look to the data in the coming months to see the trajectory of our success in the Canadian consumer market,” Martin said. If you see progress in our premium brands and adjacent key categories like vape and pre-rolls, you know the plan is on the right track.” The fall is forcing Martin to stage an immediate overhaul even after Aurora laid off thousands of workers this year. Chief financial officer Glen Ibbott blamed much of the company’s troubles on consumer cannabis net revenue falling nine per cent to $35.5 million in the quarter.The results dragged other Canadian pot stocks lower, with Tilray Inc. down as much as 9.6%, Canopy Growth Corp. losing 9% and Cronos Group Inc. falling 4.7%.
