Aurora Cannabis trims loss to CA$137M, says CEO search on track

Aurora Cannabis improved its net loss to 137 million Canadian dollars ($97 million) in its third quarter, a significant improvement over the company’s CA$1.3 billion net loss in the previous three-month period.

The Alberta cannabis producer’s adjusted EBITDA loss for the quarter ending March 31 was CA$45 million.

The company maintains it is on track to be profitable later this year, even though it declined to provide guidance on revenue.

In a conference call with analysts, interim CEO Michael Singer said Aurora remains on track to appoint a permanent chief executive in the coming months.

Net revenue was CA$75 million, ahead of analyst expectations of about CA$66 million.

As part of its “operational reset,” Aurora is slashing costs.

Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) – which were a bloated CA$$99.9 million in the second quarter – improved to CA$75.1 million.

Aurora said it is on track to reduce SG&A costs further this summer, to less than CA$45 million.

The company’s international medical cannabis revenue rose sharply quarter-over-quarter to CA$4 million in the third quarter. But that’s lower than first-quarter international sales of CA$5 million.

“The growth in international medical cannabis sales is directly attributable to our resumption of sales operations in the European Union in February 2020, which had been suspended since December 2019, following the receipt of the necessary approvals from German regulators,” according to the company’s regulatory filing.

During the call, Singer said the company had “significant” market share in Germany, but no supporting figures were provided.

Kilograms sold (12,729, or 28,063 pounds) rebounded to where the company was two quarters ago.

Kilograms produced (36,207) also rebounded but remains lower than Aurora’s first-quarter total of 41,436.

As of March 31, Aurora said it had CA$230 million in cash.

The company recently consolidated its shares to boost its sagging stock price and maintain its listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Aurora trades as ACB on the NYSE and Toronto Stock Exchange.