Aphria (APHA) reported earnings on Mon 12 Apr 21 (b/o)

• Update: Aphria's (NASDAQ:APHA) was delisted Apr 30, 21 after it completed its deal with Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY)
• -------
• Missed estimates for Q3 EPS and revs. Co noted that the duration and impact of lockdowns across various regions, particularly in Canada, were greater than co had anticipated for the cannabis industry and co's business; co experienced what it believes to be a "transitory reduction in demand" in the quarter. 

 

Aphria stock plunged Monday after the Canadian cannabis firm missed expectations for third-quarter sales and its net loss widened. Also falling were shares of Canadian peer Tilray, which plans to merge with Aphria.

Shares of Aphria (ticker: APHA) were down 14% to $14.01 and Tilray stock (TLRY) was down 12.7% to $17.26. The ETFMG Alternative Harvest exchange-traded fund (MJ), which includes other Canadian cannabis companies, was down 4%.

Aphria reported a net loss of 361 million Canadian dollars (US$287.7 million), or C$1.14 a share for the quarter, which ended Feb. 28. Analysts had expected a net loss of 5 Canadian cents a share. The net loss included about C$264.8 million related to unrealized losses on convertible debentures, C$26.3 million in share-based compensation, and C$12 million in transaction costs. Excluding those figures, the adjusted net loss was 15 Canadian cents a share.

The company reported sales of C$153.6 million for the quarter, down 4.3% from the fiscal second quarter; analysts had expected sales of C$161.3 million, according to FactSet. Aphria’s drug distribution segment accounted for C$87 million of sales. Net cannabis revenue of C$51.7 million was down from C$67.9 million in the fiscal second quarter.

Aphria’s December acquisition of SweetWater Brewing Company in the U.S. helped boost its net beverage alcohol revenue to C$14.8 million from about C$881,000 in the prior quarter.

One reason for the lower numbers was falling pot prices. The average per gram retail selling price of medical cannabis, before excise tax, fell to C$6.69 from C$6.96 in the prior quarter. In the recreational category, the average selling price per gram was down to C$3.82 from C$4.29. The company pointed to consumer trends and price compression in the market. It also cited the pandemic for a dip in demand during the quarter.

The company plans to close a merger with Tilray (TLRY) in the coming months. The combined firm will take the Tilray name, but Aphria CEO Irwin Simon will hold on to his role at the post-merger Tilray.

“We remain excited with the opportunities created for both Aphria shareholders and Tilray stockholders in completing our proposed business combination with Tilray, and believe that together, we will create one of the strongest global cannabis and consumer packaged goods companies in the world,” Simon said in the earnings release.

Earnings this week : Apr 12 - 16, 2021 (wk 15)

Monday (Apr 12)

• Morning:  APHA

Tuesday (Apr 13)

• Morning: FAST 
• Afternoon:  WAFD

Wednesday (Apr 14)

• Morning:  BBBY FRC GS JPM LOVE WFC
• Afternoon:  SJR

Thursday (Apr 15)

• Morning: BAC BLK C DAL HOMB PEP RAD TSM TFC USB UNH
• During Market Hours: WABC
• Afternoon:  AA JBHT MRTN PPG WAL

Friday (Apr 16)  

• Morning:  ALLY BK CFG KSU MS PNC STT

 

 

Earnings spotlight: 

The financial sector will lead out the start of the Q2 earnings season kicked off next week. The list of reporting companies includes 

• Aphria (NASDAQ:APHA) on April 12; 
• Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) on April 13; 
• JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JMP), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Progressive (NYSE:PGR), Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) on April 14; 
• UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), PepsiCo (PEP), Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD), BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) on April 15 
• and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), PNC (NYSE:PNC), BNY Mellon (NYSE:BNY) and Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) on April 16.

=Aphria (APHA) and Tilray (TLRY) to merge, create largest global cannabis company

The merger comes as Canada's pot industry grapples with losses and debt, and as it tries to chart a course forward in the U.S.' widening legal territory. 

Under the deal, the new company will have offices in the U.S., Canada, Portugal and Germany, with estimated market share of around 17% in Canada and $685 million in yearly revenue. The merged company will take the Tilray name and trade on the Nasdaq under the TLRY stock ticker.

Aphria (APHA) CEO Irwin Simon will become CEO and chairman of the new company once the deal closes. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of next year.

Tilray's (TLRY) current CEO, Brendan Kennedy, will hold a seat on the company's nine-member board. However, seven of the seats will be held by current Aphria directors, including Simon.

The combined value of about $3.9 billion for the merged company would still be smaller than that of Canopy Growth (CGC), which is worth $9.9 billion.

***

Aurora Cannabis (ACB) laid off 200 employees and slashed production at one of its big production facilities. Aphria and Aurora were rumored to be in merger talks earlier in the year.

MORE Act, Runoffs

This month, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the MORE Act, which would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances. The bill would decriminalize cannabis at the federal level and let states make their own laws.

The bill, however, faces little chance in the Senate. And some lawyers and pot companies have said decriminalization wouldn't necessarily help the legal marijuana business.

New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota on Election Day approved ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana. South Dakotans and Mississippi voters also backed some degree of medical use. Two runoff elections next month in Georgia will determine the balance of the Senate, and how much advantage the Democrats will have in passing cannabis reform. 

=Aphria (APHA) reported earnings on Tue 14 Jan 20 (b/o)

Aphria misses by CAD 0.01, misses on revs; lowers FY20 revenue guidance 

Reports Q2 (Nov) loss of CAD 0.03 per share, CAD 0.01 worse than the two analyst estimate of (CAD 0.02); revenues rose 455.8% year/year to CAD 120.6 mln vs the CAD 128.38 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

Co issues lowered guidance for FY20, sees FY20 revs of CAD 575-625 mln from $650-700 mln vs. CAD 584.81 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus; adjusted EBITDA of CAD 35-42 mln.

Carl Merton, Aphria's Chief Financial Officer commented, "We are updating our annual outlook with a little over four months left in our fiscal year to reflect certain market dynamics that have evolved relative to our initial expectations. We look forward to generating an acceleration in our revenue and profit growth in the second half of the fiscal year and continue to believe the Canadian and international cannabis industry outlook remains robust. Aphria is well positioned for long-term sustainable growth as we continue to manage the controllable aspects of our business."

Earnings this week : Jan 13 - 17, 20 (wk 3)

Monday (Jan 13)

• Morning: SJR

Tuesday (Jan 14)

• Morning: APHA C DAL FRC INFO JPM WFC WIT
• Afternoon: OGI WAFD

Wednesday (Jan 15)

• Morning: BAC BLK GS PNC USB UNH
• Afternoon: AA EGBN HWC KMI

Thursday (Jan 16)

• Morning: BK HOMB IIIN MS PPG TSM WNS
• Afternoon: OZK BEDU CSX PBCT PRGS

Friday (Jan 17)

• Morning: CFG FAST FHN JBHT KSU RF SLB STT

Notable earnings reports:

• JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Citigroup (NYSE:C), IHS Markit (NYSE:INFO) and Aphria (APHA) on January 14; 
• Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS) United Healthcare (UNH), BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), Alcoa (NYSE:AA) and PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC) on January 15; 
• Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) and CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) on January 16; Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST), J.B. Hunt Transport (NASDAQ:JBHT), Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU), Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) and State Street (NYSE:STT).

=Aphria (APHA) reported earnings on Tue 15 Oct 2019 (b/o)

Aphria beats by CAD0.10, misses on revs; reaffirms FY20 revs guidance

Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of CAD0.07 per share, CAD0.10 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of (CAD0.03); revenues rose 848.1% year/year to CAD126.1 mln vs the CAD131.15 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

Co reaffirms guidance for FY20, sees FY20 revs of CAD650-700 mln vs. CAD637.59 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

• Co also reaffirms Adjusted EBITDA of ~CAD88-95 mln.

Earnings this week : Oct 14 - 18, 19 (wk 42)

Monday (October 14)

• None

COLUMBUS DAY: In honor of the holiday, US bond markets and the Federal Reserve Bank will be closed on Monday, October 14, 2019. Stock, options, and futures markets will be open.

Tuesday (Oct 15)

• Morning: APHA BLK C FRC GS JNJ JPM OMC PLD SCHW UNH WFC WIT
• Afternoon: HWC JBHT PNFP SNBR UAL

Wednesday (Oct 16)

• Morning: ABT  ALLY ASML BAC BK CBSH CMA FHN PGR PNC USB
• Afternoon: AA CATY CCI CCK CNS CSX EGBN IBM KMI LLNW NFLX SLG STLD TBK TCBI UMPQ URI WTFC

Thursday (Oct 17)

• Morning: BBT BMI DOV ERIC EWBC FNB GPC GTLS HOMB HON HTLD IIIN KEY MS MTB PM POOL PPG SASR SNA SON STI TSM TXT UNP WNS
• Afternoon: BDN ETFC EXPO FFBC ISRG MRTN OZK PBCT TEAM WAL WDFC

Friday (Oct 18) 

• Morning: ABCB AXP CFG GNTX IBKC KO KSU MAN SLB STT SXT SYF

Notable earnings reports:

• JPMorgan (JPM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), United Continental (NASDAQ:UAL), Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) and BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) on October 15; 
• Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) on October 16; 
• Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) on October 17; Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), American Express (NYSE:AXP), State Street (NYSE:STT) and Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) on October 18.

This week's biggest % winners & losers : July 29 - Aug 2, 19 (wk 31)

The following are this week's top percentage gainers and losers, categorized by sectors (over $300 mln market cap and 100K average daily volume).

This week's top % gainers

• Healthcare: MYGN (47.08 +62.74%), APHA (7.33 +33.27%), ACAD (28.73 +23.09%), CHRS (20.02 +19.95%), MEDP (76.48 +19.95%)
• Industrials: ENPH (29.12 +40%), QUAD (11.39 +37.39%), ACCO (9.64 +18.57%)
• Information Technology: SPWR (15.1 +47.17%), FIVN (58.03 +20.64%), EGOV (22.06 +19.63%), BL (56.01 +18.69%), TTMI (11.66 +18.5%), EVTC (36.38 +15.93%)
• Financials: CURO (12.7 +21.76%), COOP (9.04 +16.8%)
• Energy: NBR (2.62 +19.09%)

This week's top % losers

• Healthcare: ACOR (3.10 -54.28%),  FLDM (8.05 -32.41%), ABMD (200.62 -26.42%), VAPO (14.55 -26.22%)
• Materials: OI (12.38 -30.06%)
• Industrials: FLR (22.67 -31.2%), GVA (31.22 -30.06%), NSP (102.61 -29.05%), AAWW (32.75 -28.31%)
• Consumer Discretionary: ASNA (0.33 -25.4%)
• Information Technology: TWOU (13.68 -61.54%), PS (18.62 -39.41%)
• Energy: MDR (5.38 -47.46%), SPN (0.54 -34.01%), ESV (5.02 -30.95%)

=Aphria (APHA) reported earnings on Thur 1 Aug 2019 (a/h)

Aphria beats by $0.15, beats on revs; guides FY20 above consensus 

Reports Q4 (May) earnings of CC$0.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, CC$0.15 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of (CC$0.10); revenues rose 971.7% year/year to CC$128.6 mln vs the CC$99.26 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.Higher revenue in the quarter was driven by $99.2 million of distribution revenue from CC Pharma and other distribution companies and $33.5 million of revenue from cannabis produced. Net revenue includes over 3,228 kilogram equivalents sold for the adult-use market and 1,417 kilogram equivalents for medical cannabis sales.

Co issues upside guidance for FY20, sees FY20 revs of C$650-700 mln vs. C$642.95 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus. Adjusted EBITDA of ~$88 million to $95 million.

 ========

Aphria sold 5,574 kilograms of weed during the quarter, more than double what it sold in the prior quarter. The average retail price of medical pot, excluding wholesale, dipped to $7.66 per gram, due largely to the higher portion of medical sales coming from the company.

The average selling price of recreational cannabis rose to $5.73.

Aprhia said it expected net sales of around $650 million to $700 million Canadian for fiscal 2020. 

Back in April, Aphria said it had to book a $50 million Canadian charge after regulators asked it to conduct an "impairment test" — or a procedure measuring possible changes in an asset's value — related to acquisitions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Aphria said the charge, in part, resulted from a reassessment of the acquired companies' finances that showed higher-than-expected costs.

Some analysts have wondered whether further impairment charges could be on the horizon.

Those acquisitions were the target of an attack last year by two short-sellers. Those short-sellers, Quintessential Capital and Hindenburg Research, alleged that the properties acquired were worthless and that Aphria overpaid for them to enrich people in on the deals.

In the aftermath, CEO Vic Neufeld and co-founder Cole Cacciavillani left their executive and directorship roles. Aphria said their departures had nothing to do with the short-sellers' allegations. A committee ultimately found that the price of the acquisitions was "acceptable." But it also found "conflicting interests" in the deals.

Trouble For Other Marijuana Stocks

Aphria's results on Thursday run contrary to what has been a rough spring and summer for some marijuana stocks.

In June, shares of Hexo (HEXO) dropped after quarterly sales fell — an issue CEO Sebastien St-Louis said resulted from not being able to package dry buds fast enough. Canopy Growth's (CGC) Bruce Linton was ousted last month after beer-and-wine distributor Constellation Brands (STZ), a big investor in Canopy, expressed disappointment with the weed company's financials.

Also last month, executives at CannTrust (CTST) were fired or asked to resign after Canadian media reports said that they were aware the company was growing cannabis in unlicensed rooms.

=Aphria (APHA) reported earnings on Mon 15 Apr 2019 (b/o)

Aphria misses by CAD 0.16, misses on revs

• Reports Q3 (Feb) adj loss of CAD $0.20 per share, CAD 0.16 worse than the single analyst estimate of (CAD 0.04); revenues rose 616.7% year/year to CAD 73.58 mln vs the CAD 83.45 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

Earnings this week : April 15 - 19, 2019 (wk 16)

Monday (April 15)

• Morning: APHA C GS MTB
• Afternoon: JBHT PNFP WTFC

Tuesday (April 16)

• Morning: BAC   BLK CMA FHN JNJ OMC PGR PLD UNH WIT
• Afternoon: CSX FULT HWC HOPE IBM IBKR MRTN MLNX NFLX UAL WSBC

Wednesday (April 17)

• Morning: ABT ASML BMI BK ERIC KSU MS PNR PEP POL TXT USB
• Afternoon: ADTN AA TEAM BXS OZK CATY CNS CCK CCI ETFC EGBN KMI LVS LLNW PIR PLXS SLM SLG SNBR TCBI TMK TBK UMPQ URI

Thursday (April 18)

• Morning: ALLY AXP BBT BX GTLS CHKP CFG DHR DOV EWBC GPC HTLD HOMB HON IIIN KEY MAN PM POOL BPOP PPG RF RCI SASR SLB SKX SNA SON STI SYF TSM TRV UNP WBS
• Afternoon: EXPO ISRG PBCT

Friday (April 17) : Bond and equity markets closed for Good Friday

Other reports this week:

• Monday: April Empire State Manufacturing Index (prior 3.7) at 8:30 ET and February Net Long-Term TIC flows (prior -$7.20 bln) at 16:00 ET
• Tuesday: March Industrial Production (prior 0.1%) and Capacity Utilization (prior 78.2%) at 9:15 ET and April NAHB Housing Market Index (prior 62) at 10:00 ET
• Wednesday: Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior -5.6%) at 7:00 ET; February Trade Balance (prior -$51.10 bln) at 8:30 ET; February Wholesale Inventories (prior 1.4%) at 10:00 ET; Weekly crude oil inventories (prior 7.0 mln) at 10:30 ET; and April Fed Beige Book at 14:00 ET
• Thursday: March Retail Sales (prior -0.2%), Retail Sales ex-auto (prior -0.4%), Initial Claims (prior 196,000), Continuing Claims (prior 1.713 mln), and Philadelphia Fed Survey (prior 13.7) at 8:30 ET; February Business Inventories (prior 0.8%) and March Leading Indicators (prior 0.2%) at 10:00 ET; and weekly natural gas inventories (prior +25 bcf) at 10:30 ET

Implied moves for earnings this week:

• $NFLX 8.1%
• $BAC 4.2%
• $C 4.1%
• $GS 4.7%
• $JNJ 3.1%
• $IBM 5.3%
• $CSX 4.2%
• $UAL 5.1%
• $ABT 3.6%
• $TEAM 9.4%
• $MS 4.5%
• $AA 7.4%
• $PEP 2.3%
• $ISRG 3.5%
• $UNH 4.7%
• $BLK 3.1%
• $LVS 4.3%

=Aphria (APHA) reported earnings on Fri 11 Jan 2019 (b/o)

Aphria reports Q2 (Nov) results, misses on revs; Co-founder Cole Cacciavillani and CEO Vic Neufeld to transition out of roles over coming months

• Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of CC$0.22 per share, may not be comparable to the single analyst estimate of (CC$0.04); revenues rose 154.9% year/year to CC$21.67 mln vs the CC$27.48 mln single analyst estimate. The increase in net income relates to gains on the co's long-term investment portfolio, primarily divestitures of positions in Hiku Brands and Liberty Health Sciences.
  • Initial sales in the newly legalized Canadian adult-use market accounted for over 1,900 kilogram equivalents sold. Medical cannabis sales declined marginally from 1,466.2 kilogram equivalents sold in the previous period to 1,443.6 kilogram equivalents sold in the second quarter. Cannabis oil sales, as a percentage of volume, decreased to 19% of overall sales from 39% in the prior quarter, reflecting the higher percent of dry bud sold in the adult-use market.
• Aphria Chief Executive Officer Vic Neufeld, and Co-founder Cole Cacciavillani, are both nearing the end of their five-year journey with the Company and will transition out of their executive roles over the coming months but remain on the Board. Working closely with Irwin D. Simon, Aphria's recently appointed independent Chair, and President Jakob Ripshtein, Mr. Neufeld and Mr. Cacciavillani intend to complete a smooth and responsible transition to a globally-minded executive leadership team for the long-term benefit of the Company's patients, shareholders, customers, and employees. The Board has requested that, following the transition, Mr. Neufeld and Mr. Cacciavillani continue to apply their knowledge and expertise as special advisors to both the Chair and the President, ensuring a smooth transition of institutional experience and strategic advice until a new CEO is appointed.
• "This is the first quarter to partially include adult-use sales, helping to drive 63% quarter-over-quarter net revenue growth, as did continued strength in sales to the medical-use market. As expected, gross margins declined, reflecting lower effective selling prices in the adult-use market, as well as temporarily lower yields and higher production costs in the quarter as we moved aggressively to build out production facilities and implement new automation processes...A top priority for Aphria is expanding production and automation to secure our long-term cost and scale advantages. The Part IV and V expansions of Aphria One are now complete and awaiting Health Canada approval, while an application for a cultivation licence at Aphria Diamond has been submitted and is awaiting pre-cultivation inspection. Based on this, we now expect to generate first sales from these new facilities later in the calendar year, pending Health Canada approvals, with our annualized harvest reaching 255,000 kilograms, compared to 35,000 kilograms currently, by the end of calendar 2019."

====

The leadership transition comes after short sellers Hindenburg Research and Quintessential Capital Management sparked a plunge in Aphria’s shares last month after alleging the company bought assets at inflated prices from insiders. Since their report was released on Dec. 3, the company’s stock has fallen 17 percent.

“We continue to have the greatest pride in what Aphria has achieved, and its future has never looked brighter,” Neufeld said in a statement Friday.

Cacciavillani is Aphria’s second-largest shareholder with about a 2.9 percent stake while Neufeld has about a 0.8 percent holding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Earnings this week : Jan 7 - 11, 19 (wk 2)

Note we will probably see a large number of companies preannouncing fourth quarter results next week.

Monday (Jan 7) 
Today is the start of the 4th quarter "guidance season" and we've had 39 companies provide guidance this morning.  22 of them were positive while 11 were negative.  Only January 2010, 2016, and 2018 (the 4th quarters of 2009, 2015, and 2017) had stronger starts.

• Morning: CMC
• Afternoon: None

Tuesday (Jan 8)

• Morning: AZZ HELE LNN
• Afternoon: KSHB SGH 

Wednesday (Jan 9)

• Morning: AYI GBX LEN MSM SCHN STZ
• Afternoon: BBBY KBH PSMT WDFC

Thursday (Jan 10)

• Morning: None
• Afternoon: SNX

Friday (Jan 11)

• APHA

=Aphria Inc (APHA) begins trading on the NYSE on Nov. 2, 18

Aphria Inc (APHQF), a maker of medical marijuana and cannabis oil products, announced Tuesday that its common shares have been approved for listing on the NYSE.

The shares, which are currently trading over-the-counter, are to begin trading on the Big Board Nov. 2 under the ticker symbol "APHA."


Simultaneously, the ticker symbol for its Toronto-listed shares will change from APH to APHA.

"Listing on the NYSE provides Aphria with access to the largest equity market in the world, with increased exposure to a vast array of U.S. institutional and retail investors," Aphria CEO Vic Neufeld said in a statement.

"This strategic move aligns directly with our growth ambitions as we enter an elite peer group of respected, high-profile corporate brands listed on the NYSE."

Incidentally, tobacco company Altria Group Inc (MO)is contemplating a minority investment in Aphria.


Like many cannabis companies, Aphria has been bulking up to expand its reach. In January, the company announced a deal to buy Nuuvera for $670 million in cash and stock. The target company works with partners in Germany, Italy and Israel.

Aphria completed the acquisition of Vancouver Island-based premium cannabis producer Broken Coast Cannabis in February for $175 million in cash and stock. This deal is expected to augment Aphria's annual production capacity by 10,500 kg to 230,000 kg.