Canadian marijuana company Aurora ends fiscal year with CA$3.3B loss

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Canadian marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis reported a net loss of more than 1.8 billion Canadian dollars ($1.4 billion) for its fourth quarter, ending its 2020 fiscal year with a CA$3.3 billion loss.

The quarterly loss includes a previously signaled CA$1.6 billion write-down.

Net revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was CA$72.1 million, down 4.5% from the previous quarter.

Revenue from adult-use cannabis was CA$35.3 million, down 8.5% on a quarterly basis.

Although Aurora sold 36% more recreational cannabis by volume during the quarter, that product sold for 30% less than in the previous quarter as Aurora’s discount brand, Daily Special, made up an increasing proportion of revenue.

On a late Tuesday conference call with investors, Aurora’s new CEO, Miguel Martin, said he intends to adjust Aurora’s portfolio of adult-use cannabis brands.

“We already have a collection of great premium brands: Aurora, San (Rafael), and then Whistler as our super-premium offering. So we need to emphasize all of our strong premium brands to balance out the total offering to our consumers,” Martin said,

“We also intend to better position these three premium brands across various formats to foster greater brand visibility and provide greater choices to the consumers – for example, San (Rafael) pre-rolls or a higher-quality Whistler vape.”

Aurora’s medical cannabis revenue increased 4% on a quarterly basis to CA$32.2 million, as the company reported 14% quarterly growth in its European medical cannabis business.

Aurora warned investors to expect revenue to continue declining during the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 – to between CA$60 and CA$64 million.

The Edmonton, Alberta-based cannabis producer is in the midst of a corporate transformation aimed at reducing costs by centralizing production and cutting staff.

Aurora trades as ACB on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

Earnings details from some publicly traded companies in the cannabis industry are available here.