On May 27th, Canopy Growth and Akerna released their Q4 results, joining other cannabis giants in similarly troubled waters.
Canopy Growth
Just a few months ago, the cannabis giant laid off around 250 staff, meaning 8% of its total workforce. In the latest result released last Friday May 27th, the company said that the net loss in Q4 amounted to CA$579 million, an 'improvement' of CA$38 million compared to last year's Q4.
At the same time, however, also net revenue declined by 25% to CA$112 million compared to last year's Q4. "Achieving profitability is critical and we have undertaken additional initiatives to streamline and drive efficiencies for our global cannabis business. In FY2023, we are focused on executing our path to profitability in Canada, while we continue to invest in high potential opportunities," said CFO Judy Hong.
The company stated that the 40% decrease in recreational B2B sales has been caused by an 'insufficient supply of flower products with in-demand attributes and continued price compression, particularly in the [...] dried flower category.'
Akerna
Employees at cannabis software company Akerna are too suffering a similar fate to other cannabis workers. The company has indeed announced they are laying off 59 staff. At the same time, executives are reducing their pay by 25% to support the restructuring of the company.
“We can see a path to positive cash flows and profitability, and the board and the management team are committed to getting there on an accelerated timetable. While we continue to deal with liquidity concerns, our headcount reduction and additional cost savings measures represent a material annual cost savings. As part of this restructure, executive leadership team has also collectively agreed to a 25% reduction in salary to help support the company’s cost savings initiatives," said Jessica Billingsley, Akerna’s Chief Executive Officer.