Benzinga | Jun 15, 2021 12:48PM EDT

Fire & Flower Q1 2021 Revenue Spikes 91% YoY, Achieves Fourth Consecutive Quarter Of Positive Adjusted EBITDA

Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX:FAF) (OTCQX:FFLWF) posted its latest financial earnings report Tuesday, touting a pop in revenue and the fourth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA.

The Toronto-based company generated CA$44.1 million ($36.3 million) in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, representing an increase of 91% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-IFRS measure, came in positive at CA$2.3 million versus a CA$1.4 million loss in the same period of 2020.

"Despite the challenges produced by the COVID-19 pandemic, our retail business continued to drive strong sales growth as we expanded our retail footprint by bringing Fire & Flower to British Columbia, opening two new stores in Vancouver, and bringing our total store count to 83 licensed cannabis stores," Trevor Fencott, CEO of the Toronto-based company, commented.

In February, Fire & Flower disclosed its plans to debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market, ahead of teaming up with American Acres Managers to expand across California, Arizona, and Nevada. Prior to that, the company raised $15 million through an at-the-market equity offering of some 16,568,400 common shares.

"We are strategically leveraging the significant growth opportunities that exist within each of our business segments and continue working towards listing our shares on the Nasdaq," Fencott added.

Here's a breakdown of what the first-quarter earnings report showed:

* Retail revenue amounted to roughly CA$34 million, versus CA$18,5 million in the same period of last year.

* Wholesale revenue increased by 97% year-over-year to CA$7.6 million.

* Hifyre Digital Retail and Analytics Platform generated CA$2.8 million in revenue for the quarter, increasing 252% year-over-year.

* Gross profit was CA$16.5 million compared to CA$7.5 million.

* Gross profit percentage of 37.5%, versus 32.6% in the corresponding quarter of 2020.

* Net loss amounted to CA$61.6 million compared to CA$12.7 million in the same quarter of last year.

* Same-store retail sales of the 43 stores in both 13 week periods of Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 spiked 18%.

* Cash balances of CA$32.7 million at the quarter-end.

Photo by Esteban Lopez on Unsplash