VLNCF - Valens Sees Green Roads As Revenues Increase
After the markets closed on Wednesday, The Valens Company Inc. (TSX: VLNS) (OTCQX: VLNCF) delivered its second-quarter financial results ending May 31, 2021 . Valens reported that its revenue increased 16.1% to $20.5 million versus $17.6 million in the second quarter of 2020. The net loss was $8.6 million in the quarter versus $3.5 million for the same time period in 2020.
Tyler Robson , Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder and Chair of The Valens Company, said: “We believe that our business model remained resilient despite ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic, and our strategy continued to demonstrate its effectiveness as we gained significant market penetration across the country. We are proud to share that in the second quarter alone, Valens had 132 SKUs listed in Canada – a 76% increase in comparison to 75 SKUs listed in the first quarter of 2021. This material growth in SKU listings stands in stark contrast to many of our competitors in the sector and is a testament to the innovation and quality we are bringing consumers and retailers.”
The adjusted EBITDA was $(5.0) million in the quarter versus $2.7 million , or 15.3% of revenue in 2020 for the second quarter. President Jeff Fallows said: “Predictably, our accelerated launch of a targeted portfolio of high-volume SKUs resulted in an increase in costs which impacted our adjusted EBITDA in the quarter. However, we expect these costs to produce accelerated revenue and margin growth in the coming quarters particularly as we achieve greater utilization of our largely completed manufacturing platform.”
Green Roads
In June, Valens entered the US market with the acquisition of Green Roads for $40 million . With the Green Roads acquisition, Valens more than triples its total addressable market and secures a global leadership position in the cannabis health and wellness vertical with one of the largest CBD brands by market share. Additionally, the acquisition strengthens Valens’ capabilities to supply global markets with an expanded product offering and increased speed to market with a US-based manufacturing and cGMP certified co-manufacturing platform. Valens said it plans to invest approximately $10 million into Green Roads to strengthen its resources across various business lines, including sales and marketing. Valens said that in the back half of the year, it will introduce Green Roads’ CBD products to the Canadian market.
Looking Ahead
Fallows added, “We continue to dedicate efforts and remain keenly focused on completing our listing on the Nasdaq which we expect to be completed in the third quarter of the 2021 calendar year, and which has been fortified by our US entry. These initiatives will be instrumental in advancing global market opportunities and will lead to Valens accomplishing its strategic and operational growth objectives which we believe will be transformational for the company, generate additional sources of sustainable revenue, and drive shareholder value. We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet as we successfully raised additional capital from our bought deal financing which closed after the quarter. This equity raise provides Valens with the capital to pursue its strategic initiatives, specifically by taking an opportunistic approach to additional accretive acquisitions and to further secure our entrance into additional Cannabis 2.0 and 3.0 product verticals.”
The company noted that its recent $46 million bought deal financing was closed subsequent to quarter-end on June 1, 2021 . The company said it plans to use the bulk of the net proceeds, $28 million , to pursue opportunistic acquisitions and business expansion opportunities across North America and international markets. The remaining proceeds will be used for capital expenditures, working capital, and other global general operating expenses.
Robson concluded by saying, “Importantly, we are seeing this momentum continue into the third quarter with an additional 40 SKUs accepted by the provincial boards with shipments during the third and fourth quarters. These new listings include products from four newly entered categories during the second quarter, such as flower, pre-rolls, topicals, and edibles, with many of them already receiving high consumer acclaim. Additionally, we have enhanced our platform with increased technical capabilities and greater efficiency to develop and commercialize winning products, which we expect will drive revenue growth in the second half of fiscal 2021. We look forward to continuing to drive new product innovation in the sector, specifically in the flower, pre-roll, beverage, concentrates, and edibles categories. With our recent distribution wins into New Brunswick , Manitoba , and Yukon , we are positioned well to capitalize on these investments.”