Turmoil-plagued marijuana tech company MassRoots suffered a $44.3 million loss in 2017, a large portion of which can be attributed to $22 million in stock-based compensation the company handed out during the year.
Losses in 2016 totaled $18 million.
The Denver-based company’s annual report, filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, also revealed the company posted just $319,242 in revenue last year, down from $701,581 in 2016.
MassRoots also remains low on cash.
The filing offered a detailed recap of the firm’s massive financial woes, leadership upheavals and major missteps.
Among the financial highs and lows:
- The more than $22 million in stock-based compensation handed out to current and former employees, board members and business partners was nearly triple that of the prior year.
- MassRoots had $1.2 million in cash on hand last year, up from $374,490 at the end of 2016.
- The company’s total liabilities were $13.9 million at the end of 2017, dwarfing its total assets of $2.6 million.
The company said it has “not yet established an ongoing source of revenues sufficient to cover our operating costs. … If we are unable to obtain adequate capital, we could be forced to cease operations.”
The filing also shed light on the company’s recent leadership departures and legal troubles:
- Former MassRoots board members Ean Seeb, Tripp Keber and Terence Finch – who all resigned in December 2017 – each received a $100,000 cash payout.
- The company shelled out $145,000 in February to settle a lawsuit filed by a former landlord over the Denver headquarters from which MassRoots was evicted.
- Amid the financial and leadership losses, MassRoots CEO Isaac Dietrich landed a bonus of more than $190,000 in 2017. That’s in addition to his annual salary of $97,000, which brought his total 2017 compensation from MassRoots to over $287,000.
The annual filing offered limited financial details on the company’s latest endeavor, MassRoots Blockchain Technologies. So far, MassRoots has invested $250,000 to develop the blockchain technology, which is basically a decentralized digital ledger of transactions.
The blockchain funds are part of roughly $943,000 received from 10 investors.
Shares of MassRoots (OTC: MSRT) were trading at 29 cents early Wednesday, nearly unchanged from its closing price Tuesday.
