Canadian producer Supreme Cannabis turns small profit in first quarter

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Toronto-based Supreme Cannabis Co. recorded a small profit in its first fiscal quarter of the year, the company announced.

The cannabis producer’s adjusted EBITDA – a measure of profitability – was 266,000 Canadian dollars ($203,000) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, an improvement from Supreme’s CA$4.2 million loss in the previous quarter.

Net revenue grew 25% from the previous three-month period to CA$11.9 million in the latest quarter.

By category, Supreme said revenue consisted of wholesale cannabis sales (CA$4.4 million) and recreational marijuana sales (CA$7.5 million).

The company’s biggest operating expenses in the latest quarter were wages and benefits, but those costs declined 28% year-on-year to CA$3.5 million.

Supreme said it continues to transition to a “premium” cannabis consumer packaged goods business.

In an interview with Marijuana Business Daily earlier this year after joining Supreme, CEO Beena Goldenberg rejected the “if you build it, they will come” strategy – where producers build out infrastructure years ahead of actual demand- utilized by some of her competitors.

“What are the consumers looking for? Where do we have to be?” she asked at the time.

To that end, Supreme now says it “remains focused on cost containment” while it develops “a product line that addresses consumers’ needs at a variety of price points and form factors.”

Supreme ended the quarter with CA$20.4 million in cash.

Shares of Supreme Cannabis are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange as FIRE.