ABcann Global Corporation (TSXV:ABCN)
(“
ABcann” or the “
Company”) is
pleased to provide the following business update.
“Over the past two quarters, we have enhanced
our leadership team, strengthened our balance sheet, improved
operational effectiveness, and made significant commercial
advancements. ABcann is well-positioned, with approximately
$130 million in cash, to accelerate the growth of our business,”
commented Barry Fishman, Chief Executive Officer of ABcann.
ABcann’s 2017 audited annual financial
statements showed a cash balance at December 31, 2017 of $70.8
million, annual net sales of $0.9 million and operating expenses
totalling $27.5 million. These expenses included very substantial
one-time costs related to taking ABcann public and internal
restructuring matters. While the restructuring continued into Q1 of
2018, the impact of these costs is expected to have a far lesser
impact on the Company’s financial statements for that period.
In Q1, ABcann’s new management team formulated a
growth strategy for 2018 that is focused on several key areas:
1. Production Capacity and Capability
- 2018 capacity – 800 kilograms of indoor grown premium dry
flower and 1,500 kilograms of seasonal greenhouse cannabis
- 2019 capacity – 1,500 kilograms of indoor grown premium bud and
14,000 kilograms of seasonal greenhouse cannabis to be used
primarily in finished medical and adult-use products
Targeted for completion in late Q3 2018, the
Company’s Vanluven expansion includes state-of-the-art areas for
cultivation, extraction, formulation and packaging. ABcann is
expecting to receive GMP certification in late Q4 2018 or early Q1
2019, facilitating the export of products to certain international
markets.
The Company is developing a plan for the
construction of its Kimmett facility. The macro plan and budget for
the facility are not expected to be completed until later this
year, however the Company has developed the following three-phased
approach to begin to generate revenue from the facility prior to
its completion:
- Phase 1, which has recently commenced, consists of the
construction of seasonal greenhouses and a header house with an
annual production capacity of approximately 4,000 kilograms.
Subject to receipt of necessary Health Canada approvals, this
innovative design is expected to result in one of the lowest
capital and operating costs per gram in the industry. It is
estimated that cannabis produced from these seasonal greenhouses
will be produced for less than $0.50 per gram.
- Phase 2, consisting of additional seasonal greenhouses with
annual production capacity of approximately 10,000 kilograms, is
expected to begin production in Q2 2019 and to bring the Company’s
total annual production capacity to approximately 15,500 kilograms.
- Phase 3, which will include the Cannabis Wheaton expansion
area, is expected to be a hybrid production facility with 17,000
kilograms of capacity and is expected to commence production in
late 2019. The Company continues to work with Cannabis Wheaton on
the Phase 3 facility design, with the intent of completing an
agreed-upon project plan by Q3 2018, as per the amending agreement
between the parties, which is further described in ABcann’s
management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December
31, 2017 (the “MD&A”). Upon completion of the
Kimmett facility, the Company is expected to have a total annual
production capacity of approximately 32,500 kilograms.
2. Go-to-Market Strategy
- Company to be rebranded and new consumer brands to be rolled
out mid-year 2018
- Harvest Medicine to open second clinic in Edmonton in early Q3
2018
- Harvest Medicine to launch a telemedicine platform in Q3 2018
to provide access to patients seeking medical cannabis in
underserved communities.
In the near future, subject to the receipt of
all necessary approvals, the Company expects to announce a
new company name, a new medical brand, and two
new adult-use brands, each targeting a distinct segment of the
soon-to-be-legalized recreational market.
To drive revenue growth and improve the customer experience,
ABcann is focused on:
- securing distribution agreements for its adult-use
products
- increasing its promotional interactions with cannabis clinic
prescribers
- increasing the frequency and impact of its marking and
communications
- upgrading its product line and service offerings, including an
innovative first-of-its-kind vaporizer access program and a Q3 2018
oils launch
- introducing innovative first-to-market products that meet unmet
customer needs.
ABcann’s current product development focus is on
producing extracted oil products and the Company is targeting
launch of three different formulations of oils in Q3 2018. The
Company expects to expand its product offering to include soft
gels, oral strips, patches, inhalers, and topical products when
permitted by Health Canada.
In Q1 of 2018, the Company made two strategic
investments: the acquisition of Harvest Medicine, a proven,
scalable medical cannabis clinic business that is on track to add
at least four additional locations over the next 12 months; and an
investment in Choom, a Vancouver-based company focused on retail
distribution in the adult-use market. The Choom investment is
accompanied by a product supply agreement for their retail
operations. Additional details with respect to these investments
are included in the MD&A.
3. International
Expansion
- Australia sales and sales activities underway
- GMP status approval, required for European sales, targeted for
late 2018
ABcann has signed an agreement to supply
medicinal cannabis to the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Service, as
well as a research agreement with the Metro Pain Group (the
“MPG”), a prominent group of pain physicians in
Melbourne. ABcann is shipping product to Australia this month that
will be used in conjunction with a joint study with MPG to explore
the use of cannabinoids in the management of chronic
pain.
This month, ABcann will submit joint
applications to the German Narcotic Agency (BfArM) and the State of
Brandenburg seeking approval for a narcotic import and distribution
license. This approval, expected by the end of 2018, will permit
ABcann to ship medicinal cannabis to the German market. The Company
aims to obtain a distribution license in Germany after GMP
certification of its Vanluven facility is received and the required
stability testing of its products is completed. ABcann will
enter the next round of the German tender process for cultivation
and continues to evaluate multiple opportunities to enter into
additional European markets.
4. R&D Initiatives
- University of Guelph partnership to leverage in-house
state-of-the-art research
ABcann has had an industry exclusive partnership
with the University of Guelph’s Controlled Environment Systems
Research Facility (“CESRF”) since 2015. CESRF is
the world’s leading controlled environment research and technology
development institute. The coordinated R&D program is unique to
the industry and has resulted in the first peer reviewed scientific
publications on cannabis cultivation in North America. The custom
designed growth chamber technology currently housed at the
Company’s Vanluven facility, where trained plant scientists are
extending the scope of cannabis production research, is
state-of-the-art in this field globally.
ABcann is also working with an Ontario college,
through a multifaceted partnership, on the implementation of
optimized extraction methods at the Company’s Napanee facilities
and the development of novel differentiated product formulations.
ABcann will announce further details of this partnership in the
coming weeks.
5. Organizational
Effectiveness
Through the addition of new talent with
backgrounds in the beverage alcohol, pharmaceutical and agriculture
industries, the Company has strengthened its leadership team.
ABcann has also significantly enhanced business processes and
governance across the organization. This enhanced set of internal
processes and capabilities is expected to create a strong platform
from which to expand, and create a foothold from which to
efficiently expand globally to put ABcann at the forefront of the
cannabis industry.
About ABcann:
ABcann holds production and sales licenses from
Health Canada. Its flagship Vanluven facility in Napanee, Ontario
contains proprietary, state-of-the-art, plant-growing technology,
which allows ABcann to precisely control all environmental
variables to maximize yield and produce pharmaceutical-grade
cannabis. This scientific approach to production will continue to
be the basis of ABcann’s growing philosophy in all current and
future operations.
The Company is expanding its production capacity
and pursuing partnership and product development opportunities
domestically, as well as in select international markets, such as
Germany, Australia and Israel.
An updated Investor Presentation is available on our website at
the following link:
https://www.abcannglobal.com/assets/Investor%20Presentation_April_2018.pdf
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Barry Fishman” Chief Executive Officer and Director
Neither 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.
Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this news release are
forward-looking statements, which are statements that are not
purely historical, including statements regarding the beliefs,
plans, expectations or intentions of ABcann and its management
regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news
release include statements relating to: ABcann’s vision for the
near and long-term growth and success of the Company; ABcann’s
ability to achieve competitive margins; ABcann’s proposed
re-branding and new product lines, and their respective expected
launch dates; ABcann’s expected timing for completion of its
Vanluven expansion and three phases of its Kimmett facility, as
well as the expected capacity from each; the expectation of Health
Canada approval for the seasonal greenhouses; ABcann’s ability to
expand its medicinal business and address the adult-use market,
when open; ABcann’s future plans with respect to cultivation,
distribution and imports into Germany, Australia and other
international jurisdictions, including the timing of applications
for the German market; the expected timing of receipt of the
Company’s GMP certification; the proposed opening of new Harvest
Medicine clinics; the Company’s investment in Choom; the Company’s
relationships with educational institutions and research
activities; and the Company’s intent to increase shareholder value.
Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may
cause actual results, performance or developments to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements,
including: (i) that ABcann may not be able to substantially
increase its production capacity at either its current Vanluven
facility or proposed Kimmett facility; (ii) that ABcann may not
obtain Health Canada approval for the seasonal greenhouses or other
phases of the Kimmett facility construction; (iii) that ABcann may
not complete the Kimmett Phase 3 plan prior to the deadline
provided in the Cannabis Wheaton agreement; (iv) that ABcann’s
re-branding, including the proposed change of name, may not receive
the necessary approvals; (v) that the Company may not be able to
launch new products in the time expected or at all; (vii) that the
Company may not be able to achieve competitive margins; (vi) that
ABcann may not be able to increase the sales of its products in the
current domestic market or to successfully launch new product lines
in the time expected or at all; (vii) that the new products, if
launched, may not be accepted by the market or may become subject
to product liability claims; (viii) that ABcann may not be able to
obtain a distribution/import license or a cultivation license for
Germany or other emerging markets it is targeting; (ix) that ABcann
may not be able to serve larger and broader markets as a result of
its production increase; (x) that ABcann may be unable to retain
its key talent; (xi) that ABcann’s management may be unsuccessful
in implementing the 2018 strategic plan; and (xii) other factors
beyond the Company’s control. No assurance can be given that any of
the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur
or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from
them. Readers are urged to consider these factors, and the more
extensive risk factors included in the Company’s annual information
form dated April 30, 2018, which is available on SEDAR, carefully
in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this news
release, and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such
forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety
by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements in
this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company
disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any such
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or results or otherwise, except as required by
applicable securities laws.
For further information, please contact Barry Fishman at barry.fishman@abcannglobal.com or Michael Bumby at michael.bumby@abcannglobal.com
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