ACB Aurora Cannabis Inc

TSXV:ACB

Strong Revenue Growth, Increased Revenue per Patient

Construction of Aurora Sky Proceeding on Schedule

VANCOUVER, May 15, 2017 /CNW/ - Aurora Cannabis Inc. (the "Company" or "Aurora") (TSXV: ACB) (OTCQX: ACBFF) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) today announced its financial and operational results for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 (Q3 2017).

Operational Highlights and Recent Developments

Revenues of $5.2 million as compared to $0.2 million for Q3 2016. Q3 2017 revenues reflect 33.3% sequential growth over Q2 2017, driven both by increased patient numbers and higher revenue per patient. The Company's current sales pace exceeds $2.0 million per month. Aurora continues to execute well on all aspects of its growth strategy, including the construction of a state-of-the-art 800,000 square foot production facility, national and international expansion, and continued investments in technology, innovation, partnerships, customer service, and sales and marketing.

Financial and operational highlights Q3 2017

Developments subsequent to the quarter

• Achieved sales pace exceeding $2 million in gross monthly revenues.
• Commenced sales of cannabis oils.
• Construction of Aurora Sky, the Company's flagship new 800,000 square foot production facility at the Edmonton International Airport, is proceeding well and on schedule. The Company currently estimates the capital cost of the project to be in the range of $110 million.
• Production at the new facility is expected to commence late in calendar 2017 upon completion of the initial phases of the project, with the full 800,000 square feet completed in 2018 and full capacity reached in 2019.
• Further strengthened its financial position with completion of the $75 million 7% unsecured convertible debentures offering, and converted $17,500,000 of outstanding 8% convertible debentures into approximately 8,750,000 additional common shares.
• Completed the acquisition of Peloton Pharmaceuticals Inc., which includes a 40,000-square foot cannabis production facility in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, currently 80% complete. Subsequent to the acquisition, Aurora has re-initiated construction activities towards completion and licensing.
• Commenced international expansion with the participation in Cann Group Limited's initial public offering on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: CAN) for A$6.5 million, and now holds 19.9% of the shares issued and outstanding in Australia's first licensed cannabis company.
• Approximately $86.5 million in additional gross cash proceeds may be available from the potential future exercise of warrants, stock options and compensation options/warrants.
• Completed phase II of the research collaboration with Radient Technologies Inc. ("RTI"), and a report is expected from RTI, subject to confirmation of analytical results from Anandia Labs, by May 31, 2017.
• Appointed Glen Ibbott as Chief Financial Officer.
• Appointed Andrea Paine as Director, Québec Affairs.

Management commentary

"The tabling this spring of legislation to legalize adult consumer use of cannabis validates our aggressive growth and expansion strategy," said Terry Booth, CEO. "The progress of construction and timelines to complete our 800,000 square foot Aurora Sky facility position us exceptionally well for the anticipated start of adult consumer sales by July 2018."

Booth continued, "Our premium cannabis products continue to resonate strongly with the rapidly growing medical market. Following an exceptional patient growth rate for the first twelve months of commercial operations, demand continues to exceed available supply. We have pro-actively managed new patient registrations in Q3 2017 to balance demand with our steadily increasing production capacity to ensure we protect our position as a premium supplier. As our capacity increases and more product becomes consistently available, we anticipate patient acquisition will resume its steady growth. We are also very excited to have commenced cannabis oil sales shortly after the quarter ended. They have gotten off to a brisk start, and we expect these to be a material contributor to revenues, enabling us to capture significant share in this fast growing segment of the cannabis market."

Booth concluded, "Going forward, with one of the strongest cash balances in the industry, we will be able to execute on our aggressive expansion plans, both domestically and internationally, as we have done successfully with the acquisition of Peloton and our participation in the IPO of Australia's first licensed cannabis company, Cann Group. Finally, as we are maturing as an organization, we have added considerable strength to the management team with the appointments of a CFO and Director of Québec Affairs. These new team members will add important additional senior executive capacity as we pursue our goals and execute our growth strategy."

Highlights Q3 2017

• Obtained cannabis oil sales license in January 2017.
• Significantly strengthened the balance sheet with in total $127.4 in new funds:
• • Generated approximately $27.4 million from the exercise of warrants, stock options and compensation options.
  • $25 million in completed brokered private placement of 8% unsecured convertible debentures.
  • $75 million in completed brokered private placement of 33,337,500 units at a price of $2.25 per unit.
• Generated revenues of approximately $5.2 million, up 33%, or approximately $1.3 million, from Q2 2017;
• • Sold 653,008 grams of cannabis, up 21% from Q2 2017.
• Achieved new sales milestones.
• • Sales pace for the quarter in excess of $1.5 million per month.
  • Record sales month in March 2017 with product sales in excess of 250 kilograms and gross revenue in excess of $2 million.
• Launched second generation of the Company's highly successful mobile application.
• Graduated from the OTCQB to the OTCQX.
• Signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Radient Technologies Inc. ("Radient") for a joint development and commercialization of superior and standardized cannabinoid extracts. Entered into a joint venture research agreement pursuant to which Radient and Aurora are working to validate the effectiveness of Radient's MAP technology for cannabis extraction.
• Invested approximately $3.3 million in Radient's convertible debenture and private placement financings, resulting in an 18% ownership
• Appointed Neil Belot as Chief Global Business Development Officer.
• Appointed Dr. Barry Waisglass as Medical Director.

Financial review Q3 2017

A comprehensive discussion of Aurora's financials and operations are provided in the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis and Financial Statements filed with SEDAR and can be found on www.sedar.com. 

Revenues

The Company sold 653,008 grams of cannabis during Q3 2017, up 21% from Q2 2017. Revenues of $5.2 million were generated in Q3 2017, as compared to $0.2 million for Q3 2016, and up 33%, or approximately $1.3 million, from Q2 2017, driven by higher patient numbers and an increase in the revenue per patient.  The Company has pro-actively managed new patient registrations in Q3 2017, following an exceptional patient growth rate for the first twelve months of commercial operations, in order to balance demand with its steadily increasing production capacity, and to protect the Company's reputation as a reliable supplier of premium products. As more product becomes available, the Company anticipates it will increase new patient registration and return to higher patient acquisition rates. 

Gross Profit and Adjusted Gross Profit

Management believes that "Adjusted Gross Profit", a non GAAP measure, provides useful insight into the Company's operational performance during the periods by excluding non-cash fair value measurements of biological assets that are required under IFRS, as follows:

General & Administrative Costs

General and administration costs were $2.0 million in Q3 2017, an increase of $1.4 million compared to Q3 2016, attributable primarily to increases in corporate and general administrative activities as the Company scaled up its business operations, completed various equity and debt financings, as well as other costs incurred related to ongoing negotiations for additional financings and other potential acquisition and investment opportunities. In the prior period, the Company began scaling up its business operations as it transitioned to a fully licensed producer.

Sales & Marketing

Sales and marketing costs were $2.7 million in Q3 2017, an increase of $2.2 million over Q3 2016. The increase was largely attributable to increases in consulting fees, selling costs and wages. Consulting fees increased by $1.0 million, primarily attributable to fees paid to Canadian Cannabis Clinics pursuant to a services agreement to provide operational, administrative and consulting services to CanvasRx. No such expense was incurred in the prior period. Selling expenses increased by $0.8 million, directly related to the increase in sales volume during the period.

Net Income

The Company recorded net income of $0.1 million in Q3 2017, as compared to net income of $2.5 million in Q3 2016. The change in net income is attributable primarily to a $5.0 million increase in revenues, and a $3.3 million increase in the unrealized gain on debenture and marketable securities, offset by a $2.2 million negative impact of the change in unrealized gain on the changes in fair value of biological assets, a $2.5 million increase in non-cash share-based payments, a $1.1 million increase in financing costs, as well as a $3.5 million increase in Sales & Marketing and General & Administrative costs, related to the increase in business and corporate activities. 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Working capital as of March 31, 2017 was $126.5 million, as compared to a deficiency of $2.8 million as

at June 30, 2016. The $129.3 million increase was primarily attributable to an increase in cash and cash equivalents of $110.9 million, generated from debt and equity financings, offset by a decrease in short term loans of $6.0 million. The increase in cash and cash equivalents resulted mainly from net cash generated from equity and debt financings of $147.1 million, offset by net cash used for operations of $15.2 million and investments of $21.0 million.

Subsequent to March 31, 2017, the Company also generated $75 million in additional gross cash proceeds from an unsecured convertible debenture financing.

Details of the capital initiatives described above can be found in the Company's filings on www.sedar.com

Outstanding Share Data

As of the date of the MD&A, the Company had the following securities issued and outstanding:

Outlook

Aurora's business strategy is to continue accelerating its penetration of the Canadian medical cannabis market, leverage its Health Canada sales license for derivative products, expedite the completion of the Pointe-Claire facility, and to complete a major facility expansion (Aurora Sky) for additional production capacity.

If, as expected, the Canadian federal government passes legislation legalizing the adult consumer use of cannabis, the Company is building organizational and production capacity to capture a share of the adult use market.  The Company is executing an aggressive Canadian and international expansion, as evidenced by the April 2017 acquisition of Peloton Pharmaceuticals in Québec, and lead participation in the May 2017 Cann Group IPO in Australia.  The Company is also actively pursuing further international opportunities.

CanvasRx Share Issuance

Additionally, the Company shall  issue 1,080,604 Common Shares, at a deemed price of $2.30 per Common Share, to the vendors of CanvasRx Inc. ("CanvasRx") in accordance with CanvasRx achieving certain earn-out payment milestones for the period ended March 31, 2017, as set out in the share purchase agreement previously announced on August 10, 2016. The issuance shall be completed upon receipt of approval from the TSX Venture Exchange, which is expected to occur shortly.

About Aurora

Aurora's wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc., is a licensed producer of medical cannabis pursuant to Health Canada's Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR"). The Company operates a 55,200 square foot, state-of-the-art production facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, and is currently constructing a second 800,000 square foot production facility, known as "Aurora Sky", at the Edmonton International Airport, and has acquired, and is undertaking completion of, a third 40,000 square foot production facility in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, on Montreal's West Island. In addition, the company is the cornerstone investor with a 19.9% stake in Cann Group Limited, the first Australian company licensed to conduct research on and cultivate medical cannabis. Aurora's common shares trade on the TSX-V under the symbol "ACB".

On behalf of the Board of Directors, AURORA CANNABIS INC.

Terry Booth, CEO

This news release includes statements containing certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.

The TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Aurora Cannabis Inc.