Beena Goldenberg
Analyst · Stifel GMP
Thank you, and good morning, everyone. With me is Derrick West, our Chief Financial Officer. For today’s call, we’ll discuss the results for the three months ended February 28, 2023 and the general business update. We will then open the call for questions. We continued to generate solid financial results from the second quarter of fiscal 2023. We achieved a 24% year-over-year net revenue increase. The quarter reflected the typical seasonality we have seen in previous years, where sales into provincial boards declined from December through March. We delivered record adjusted gross margin and our 5th consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA, while maintaining our number three market position among Canadian LPs. In Q2, we were number one in the milled flower segment, number 3 in gummies overall, number 1 in pure CBD gummies and had the number 1 hash brand nationally. I’d like to point out that the wins we’ve had in the hash segment are a great illustration of our core strength. We acquired Laurentian Organic in December 2021. We leveraged our in-house sales and marketing team to achieve national distribution for Tremblant Hash. We then expanded our presence in the segment by introducing Wô Lá and Holy Mountain pressed hash. Additionally, we innovated in the category with the launch of SHRED X Rip-Strip Hash, the first product of its kind in Canada. So, to sum it up, we identified the right acquisition, applied our CPG expertise to gain share in a new segment, and introduced a new product that created consumer excitement. Now, let’s talk about SHRED. It is a well-recognized cannabis brand in Canada with SKUs in the most popular market segments. SHRED milled flower holds the number one position in its category by a wide margin, and with three of those SKUs, Tropic Thunder, Funk Master and Gnarberry have been the top selling SKUs nationally for the six months ended February 28, 2023. SHRED products are now available in almost 90% of retail stores in the country, and the brand has generated $190 million in retail sales in the past 12 months. This is a brand platform that continues to deliver success. Looking at regional board data, we have the leading market share in the Maritimes, and we’re number one in milled flower, gummies, and hash. In Ontario, we were the number two LP. We were number one in milled flower and capsules, number one in hash, number three in gummies. We are also very pleased with our growth in Quebec where we have held a strong number three position. This is partly from the addition of Laurentian’s products, but also due to significantly increased sales of our overall portfolio. Based on the data from Weedcrawler, we have the number one hash SKU, and we’re number one in milled flower. Our strong position in the market and our continued success comes from our focus on creating innovative products that excite consumers as their tastes evolve. In Q2, we introduced 18 new SKUs, including 8 new Holy Mountain SKUs. As I mentioned, we launched SHRED X Rip-Strip Hash at the end of Q2, and the response has been extremely strong. It is an exciting new hash format that addresses many pain points consumers report when using hash products, and opens the hash segment to new consumers. The hash is formatted in 10 pre-cut strips that can be used to make your own infused pre-roll and offered in Tropic Thunder and Blueberry Blaster flavor profiles. Our patent pending Edison JOLTS continued to lead in the ingestible extracts category with 85% growth in sales compared to Q2 of fiscal 2022. On March 13th, we announced that Health Canada determined that Jolts lozenges in the 100 milligram THC per package format were improperly classified as an extract rather than an edible. Health Canada has allowed us to continue to sell and distribute our inventory of JOLTS until May 31st. Now, Organigram launched JOLTS in 2021, following significant research, development, and regulatory work. We remain of the view that the patent pending JOLTS are properly classified as cannabis extracts and compliant with cannabis regulations. We have filed an application with the Federal Court of Canada seeking judicial review of Health Canada’s determination. As court proceedings can take some time, we intend to file a motion for a stay, seeking to satisfy the decision in the interim. In terms of production at Moncton, we are achieving scale benefits from the completion of the 4C expansion. We continued to implement environmental and technology improvements designed to increase both yields and cultivar quality. Also, new cultivars, including several developed by our plant science team, are being screened with a view to be added to our portfolio. Finally, CO2 extraction has been optimized to generate higher yields. In Winnipeg, we continued to increase our capacity to meet the high consumer demand for Monjour as of February 2023, the facility produced an average of 3.1 million gummies per month. We also continued to see solid productivity on the packaging line with 35,000 to 40,000 pouches per day being produced. Construction is complete at Lac-Supérieur. And while we expect the greenhouse to come online in summer, we have moved our hash production into the new facility. In February, we commissioned an ultrasonic blade with a capacity of 150 units per minute and automatic labeling equipment to help us meet the demand for our new SHRED X Rip-Strip Hash. The vape category is an area focus for our product development collaboration with British American Tobacco. This includes analysis of vape volume, particle size and pressure. This will help us assess the quality of different devices. In parallel with this, we are conducting a quantitative sensory analysis with our in-house expert trained panel of over 200 individuals. This research will serve as a foundation for future development activities, including consumer safety, product quality, and performance. Further, these insights are expected to enable Organigram to capitalize on the new vapor heating technology garnered from our $4 million U.S. investment in Green Tank Technologies, a leader in vape hardware and technology. This investment, which took place after quarter end, is reflective of our commitment to grow in the vape category. We believe Greentank’s technology is the first true innovation in vaporization in almost a decade. It solves many of the clogging and performance issues associated with vapes and may also increase the perceived potency per puff. We have obtained exclusivity for this new technology in Canada for 18 months after it is introduced to the Ontario market and expect to launch this and - this improved 510 format product by the end of our fiscal year. Moving on to international sales. In Q2, we delivered a record $10.7 million of dried flower to Israel and Australia. For the first six months of fiscal 2023, our international sales have reached $16.6 million, exceeding the $15.4 million of sales in the full year of fiscal 2022. The significant international sales in the quarter reflected the introduction of several new SKUs in Australia and Israel. Going forward, we expect international revenue to normalize to the level seen in the past two quarters. Now, before I turn the presentation over to Derrick, I’d like to comment on the continued pricing pressure we are seeing in the market. While many producers have discussed not wanting to participate in a race to the bottom, we are seeing the opposite in the market. Large format, 28-gram offerings with a sub $100 retail price point increased by almost 300% over the past six months. Large format pricing in some markets has reached the point that considering the cost of production and the excise tax burden, the products are being sold at a loss. This is not sustainable and hurts the cannabis industry. While our low cost structure allows us to compete at these reduced prices, we have not matched the aggressiveness of our competitors and have seen some market share erosion in our large format flower. At Organigram, we are focused on delivering value to all stakeholders. We are confident that our branding and marketing expertise, proven track record of innovation and operational efficiency will provide long-term success and leadership in the cannabis industry. This is supported by our strong balance sheet, which allows us to continue to evaluate investment opportunities that increase our competitive advantage. Over to you, Derrick.