LAVAL, QC, March 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Neptune
Wellness Solutions Inc. ("Neptune" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: NEPT)
(TSX: NEPT), a diversified and fully integrated health and wellness
company focused on plant-based, sustainable and purpose-driven
lifestyle brands, today released the following letter from the
company's Chair of the Board, Julie
Phillips, Chief Executive Officer, Michael Cammarata and Interim Chief Financial
Officer, Randy Weaver.
Dear Shareholders:
On the heels of today's financing announcement, we want to
explain our decision to raise additional equity through the
Registered Direct Offering with a single strategic consumer-focused
institutional investor. We believe this action, along with
continued modifications to our operational and financial
decision-making, enhances the long-term opportunity for success for
Neptune Wellness shareholders.
Financial Positioning
With geopolitical risks rising, we are taking the steps necessary
to shore up cash reserves in the immediate term and position our
balance sheet properly to fund our growth initiatives as we push
towards profitability. To this end, we have explored multiple
options to balance the need for providing near-term financial
stability while ensuring we continue to build long-term shareholder
value. As a result, we have entered into a definitive agreement
with a single strategic consumer-focused institutional investor for
the purchase and sale of shares of our common stock and pre-funded
warrants. Taking into account all considerations, we believe this
is in the best interest of the company and will benefit
shareholders in the long-term.
We also continue to explore additional financing options,
including debt. We expect to come to terms with a lender, or
lenders, that will result in cash proceeds to the company in the
amount of $20-$25 million, further supplementing our existing
cash position. While we cannot assure that current negotiations
will lead to an agreement, we are presently having positive
discussions with multiple lenders.
Growth Drivers
We remain enthusiastic about the
growth prospects of our business, with opportunity across all three
of our core verticals. We have successfully made the transition to
a fully-integrated consumer packaged goods company with a diverse
suite of better-for-you brands, available in some of the country's
largest retail chains. At the same time, we are driving
consumer relevance by pursuing the right strategic partnerships for
co-branded product lines and expanding our product offerings in key
wellness categories including cannabis.
Major Distribution Gains
Since acquiring a majority stake in Sprout Organics in February 2021, we have expanded Sprout baby foods
and toddler snacks substantially - both online and in store at
major retailers like Target and Wal-Mart.
Earlier this week, we announced the launch of our Forest Remedies Multi Omega 3-6-9 line of
supplements into more than 340 Sprouts Farmers Market stores across
the U.S. This distribution agreement marks another important
milestone in our efforts to transform Neptune into a high-growth
branded CPG company.
In Canada, we continue to
secure distribution for our Mood Ring and PanHash cannabis brands.
We are now selling into over 1,300 stores, up from over 1,000
stores in the prior quarter. This represents just over 55 percent
of the stores in the four territories where we operate.
Strategic Partnerships
Last month, we brought Walmart a first-of-its-kind collaboration
between Sprout Organics and popular kids' entertainment platform
CoComelon. This co-branded product line is now available on
Walmart.com and in 900 Walmart stores next month, and has been very
well-received. With this launch, Sprout Organics now sells into the
top organic baby food retailers in the U.S., accounting for
approximately 90 percent of the overall market.
Category Expansion
We continue to introduce new and in-demand product formats to meet
the growing needs of cannabis consumers. With the launch of our
Mood Ring pre-roll product line in Alberta and Ontario, Neptune now has an offering for every
major cannabis product category in Canada's booming market.
Investing in Our Prospects
Six months ago we
conducted a strategic review and made some big changes to get on
track to becoming a profitable diversified CPG company. These
actions have taken effect, and we are starting to see the results –
we just posted our first quarter of positive gross margins since
transitioning to a CPG-focused model. We also delivered our fourth
consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth. We expect
these positive trends to continue in fiscal year 2023.
We are very excited about what the future holds for Neptune
Wellness – and we are putting our money where our mouth is.
Neptune's executive management team, including the Board, recently
completed the purchase of more than one million common shares in
the public market, reinforcing our confidence in the direction
we're headed.
While the global market can be unstable during turbulent times,
we are taking steps to ensure we remain well-positioned to execute
against our stated plan: controlling our costs while pursuing
high-growth opportunities with our Food & Beverage, Cannabis,
and Personal Care & Beauty brands.
Julie
Phillips
|
Michael
Cammarata
|
Randy
Weaver
|
Chair of the
Board
|
CEO
|
Interim
CFO
|
About Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc.
Headquartered in Laval, Quebec,
Neptune is a diversified health and wellness company with a mission
to redefine health and wellness. Neptune is focused on building a
portfolio of high quality, affordable consumer products in response
to long-term secular trends and market demand for natural,
plant-based, sustainable and purpose-driven lifestyle brands. The
Company utilizes a highly flexible, cost-efficient manufacturing
and supply chain infrastructure that can be scaled to quickly adapt
to consumer demand and bring new products to market through its
mass retail partners and e-commerce channels. For additional
information, please visit: https://neptunewellness.com/.
Disclaimer – Safe Harbor Forward–Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements contained in this press release
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results, performance and achievements of
Neptune Wellness Solutions to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
the said forward-looking statements.
Neither NASDAQ nor the Toronto Stock Exchange accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neptune-wellness-issues-letter-to-shareholders-301500153.html
SOURCE Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc.