The Flowr Corporation Announces Third Quarter 2021 Results and Provides Operational Update

TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR; OTC: FLWPF) (“Flowr” or the “Company”) herein announces its financial and operational results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021. All financial information in this news release is reported in Canadian dollars and represents results from continuing operations, unless otherwise indicated.

Darryl Brooker, Chief Executive Officer of Flowr commented:

“The third quarter of 2021 continues our focus on the development of new genetics, the growth of premium and ultra-premium dried flower cannabis in Canada, continued improvement of operational efficiencies and production at our indoor E.U. GMP Sintra facility in Portugal (“Sintra Facility”).

In July 2021, Flowr entered into an agreement with Green Hedge Education & Distribution Services Ltd. (“Green Hedge”) to act as our external sales agent in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, significantly increasing our sales coverage in each province. Our points of distribution continue to expand in each province and the recent release of our newest strain, Strawnana, continues to gain consumer attention.

As we continue to focus on new and exotic genetics, Flowr expects to launch three new strains in Q1 2022, which have already been approved for listing, doubling our current offering and continuing to support our strategy of premium and ultra-premium dried flower.

In Portugal, Holigen Holdings Limited (“Holigen”) has completed the Sintra Facility and is currently growing new genetics shipped from the Flowr K1 Facility at the Sintra Facility. In addition, we expect to receive further genetics under the previously announced Cookies partnership by end of December 2021, further improving the capability and our confidence in growing Holigen’s presence in the E.U. market.

As a result of our continuing efforts on cost reduction and divestment of non-core assets, SG&A expenses have decreased for three consecutive quarters, representing a 21% decrease from the same level in Q4 2020. The land sale agreement that was previously announced is scheduled to close in early December 2021 with the Company to receive $5.3 million in cash, and a further $1.0 million cash receivable within six months upon satisfaction of certain conditions.

During the third quarter we continued to strengthen our balance sheet with an early repayment of $7.5 million towards our syndicated credit facility led by ATB Financial (“Credit Facility”). In December we intend to make a further paydown of $3.0 million from the land sale proceeds towards the Credit Facility, bringing the principal amount outstanding to below $6 million by the end of the year.

As we look ahead to the fourth quarter of 2021 and beyond, we are excited about the opportunities to continue growth in Canada and the E.U. Our focus will remain on executing our strategy to increase sales through new genetics and innovative product offerings, improving operational efficiency to ensure a consistent supply of high-grade premium products and maximizing the potential of Holigen.”

Third Quarter and Year-to-Date (“YTD”) 2021 Highlights

• Gross revenue for Q3 2021 amounted to $3.6 million compared with $3.4 million 03 in Q3 2020, while net revenue during Q3 2021 was $2.5 million compared with $2.8 million in Q3 2020. Net revenue from Flowr Canada during Q3 2021 amounted to $2.3 million compared with $2.8 million in the same period of 2020. The decrease in revenue from Flowr Canada was primarily the result of lower grams of retail products sold during the quarter, offset by an increase in revenue from cannabis sold through bulk wholesale.
  
  
• Gross revenue for the first nine months of 2021 amounted to $10.6 million compared with $7.4 million in the same period of 2020, while net revenue for the first nine months of 202 totaled $8.5 million compared with $5.9 million in the same period of 2020. Net revenue from Flowr Canada increased to $8.0 million in the first nine months of 2021 from $5.9 million in the same period of 2020, as a result of higher volume of retail and bulk cannabis products sold in the current year.
  
  
• During Q3 2021, Flowr sold 2,339 kilograms of cannabis in Canada, including 260 kilograms of retail products and 2,079 kilograms of bulk sales. For the first nine months of 2021, a total of 5,251 kilograms of cannabis were sold in Canada including 985 kilograms of retail products and 4,265 kilograms of bulk sales. At the end of Q3 2021, the Company has sold through the majority of the inventory produced in 2020 and early 2021.
  
  
• Net revenue from Holigen related to tolling service revenue earned in Portugal, which amounted to $207,000 during Q3 2021 and $590,000 for YTD 2021, compared with $nil for the same respective periods in 2020.
  
  
• SG&A expenses for Q3 2021 amounted to $3.6 million compared with $3.6 million in Q3 2020, while SG&A for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 totaled $12.4 million compared with $14.0 million for the same period in 2020. SG&A expenses have decreased in three consecutive quarters from $4.6 million during Q4 2020 to $3.6 million in the current quarter as a result of the Company’s continued cost reduction efforts.
  
  
• Gross loss for Q3 2021 was $3.2 million compared with a loss of $5.2 million for Q3 2020. Gross loss for Q3 2021 was lower compared with Q3 2020 primarily due to higher cost of sales recorded on significantly higher volume of grams of cannabis sold, offset by an increase in gains resulting from fair value adjustments on inventory sold. Gross loss for YTD 2021 improved to a loss of $6.6 million from a loss of $11.0 million during the same period in 2020, primarily as a result of the increase in net revenue, higher cost of sales recorded, offset by higher gains resulting from fair value adjustments on inventory sold.
  
  
• On July 19 and July 27, 2021, Flowr closed two tranches of private placement financings for total gross proceeds of $7,564,000 and issued 36,019,047 units (“Units”) of the Company at a price of $0.21 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Common Share and one Common Share purchase warrant which entitles the warrant holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.26 per share any time for a period of 42 months from the closing date.
  

• On August 6, 2021, the Company entered into an amendment to the Credit Facility whereby the senior creditors agreed to certain amendments allowing Flowr to additional flexibility under the Credit Facility to issue equity and to enter into financings arrangements with respect to Holigen. The Company also repaid $7.5 million towards the Credit Facility on August 6, 2021, reducing the principal amount outstanding to approximately $9.8 million. The Company expects the indebtedness pursuant to the Credit Facility to be reduced to less than $6 million by year-end, representing a significant reduction in overall indebtedness.
  

Operational Update

• Flowr achieved full operation in all 20 grow rooms at the K1 Facility and two R&D rooms at the Kelowna Research Station (“KRS”) Facility. THC levels have consistently been trending up resulting in an average of +3.3% absolute THC versus Q2 2021.
  
  
• A total of 51 new and exotic genetics have been planted at the KRS Facility and the K1 Facility. Based on early results, the Company targets to commercialize 12 new high-THC strains in 2022. Three of these new strains have been approved for product listing in Q1 2022, significantly expanding the Company’s product portfolio.
  
  
• Flowr successfully introduced a new format of pre-rolls trademarked Dogwalkers which started delivery in Q4 2021. These 0.35g pre-rolls are packaged in an innovative tin pack of seven pre-rolls and have been listed in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario.
  
  
• Our latest strain release, BC Strawnana, is now listed in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. BC Strawnana is a high THC strain (>25%) that is showing excellent sales momentum.
  
  
• Holigen has now received a total of 6,500 clones of Strawnana, Black Cherry Punch, and Pink Kush, all imported from Flowr’s K1 Facility, at the Sintra Facility in Portugal. Additional clones of Cookies genetics are also in the process of being imported to Sintra from Canada. The Sintra Facility is expected to be operating at full capacity in early 2022.
  
  
• As announced previously, in August 2021 Holigen, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, RPK entered into a series of agreements (the “Licensing Agreements”) with Cookies Creative Consulting and Promotions Inc. (“Cookies”) whereby RPK will be cultivating and distributing Cookies products in Portugal from the Sintra Facility. Pursuant to the terms of the Licensing Agreements, RPK will cultivate and have the exclusive rights to sell Cookies branded products, including non-cannabis merchandise, in Portugal for three years subject to certain milestone commitments. Flowr has commenced the process of importing the Cookies branded genetics from Canada into Portugal and expects to be able to commence commercial production by year-end. Cookies will consult with Flowr on the development of a medical retail distribution strategy in Portugal through the country’s existing pharmacy networks and the design of up to three proprietary retail pharmacy outlets in the country.
  

Selected Financial and Operational Results

(1) Gross revenue net of excise tax, provision for returns and concessions

For a full discussion of Flowr’s operational and financial results, please refer to the Company’s Management’s Discussion & Analysis and Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, which have been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About The Flowr Corporation

The Flowr Corporation is a Canadian cannabis company with operations in Canada and the European Union. Its Canadian operating campus, located in Kelowna, BC, includes a purpose-built, GMP-designed indoor cultivation facility, an outdoor cultivation site, and a state-of-the-art R&D facility. From this campus, Flowr produces recreational and medicinal products. Internationally, Flowr services the global medical cannabis market through its subsidiary, Holigen Holdings Limited, which has a license for cannabis cultivation in Portugal and operates a GMP licensed facility in Portugal. In 2020, Flowr’s BC Pink Kush was recognized as the top indica strain in Canada by KIND magazine.

Flowr aims to support improving outcomes through responsible cannabis use and, as an established expert in cannabis cultivation, strives to be the brand of choice for consumers and patients seeking the highest-quality craftsmanship and product consistency across a portfolio of differentiated cannabis products.  

For more information, please visit flowrcorp.com or follow Flowr on Twitter: @FlowrCanada and LinkedIn: The Flowr Corporation.

On behalf of The Flowr Corporation:

Darryl Brooker
Chief Executive Officer

CONTACT INFORMATION:

INVESTORS & MEDIA:
John Chou
Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]

Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements made in this press release may constitute “forward-looking information”, “future oriented financial information” or “financial outlooks” (collectively, “forward-looking information”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to anticipated events or results including, but not limited to: the Company’s expectation that it will build on its achievements as it continues to invest in sales and marketing; the Company’s expectations for sales of product in Quebec; Flowr servicing the global medical cannabis market and operating GMP facilities in Portugal; Flowr’s business, production and products; Flowr’s plans to provide premium quality cannabis to adult use recreational and medical markets; EU-GMP certification opening the medicinal cannabis opportunity for the Company in global markets; the Company being well positioned to distribute EU-GMP compliant product into underserviced markets; Flowr’s ability to realize revenue from the Company’s European operations within the anticipated timeframe or at all; Flowr’s ability to establish sales and distribution channels in Europe to deliver medicinal cannabis to underserviced markets; expectations with respect to the anticipated timing for harvests, propagation, completion of construction and installation of extraction infrastructure at the Company’s Sintra facility; the Company being unable to commence GMP packaging and commercial sales within the anticipated timeframe or at all; Flowr’s ability to service the global medical cannabis market and/or operate GMP-designed manufacturing facilities in Portugal; the sale of medical cannabis in pharmacies in Portugal representing a watershed moment for cannabis in the E.U.; the Company’s ability to complete offering(s) of its securities under the Final Shelf Prospectus; the expected impact of the strategic review decisions on the Company; the actual costs of savings from the Company’s restructuring initiatives, including with respect to its workforce; the Company’s plans to divest its interests in certain of its subsidiaries; the Company’s ability to obtain licensing from Health Canada and other regulatory authorities with respect to its properties and facilities; future legislative and regulatory developments in Canada and elsewhere; the cannabis industry in Canada generally; the ability of Flowr to implement its business strategies; and the ability of Flowr to produce or sell premium quality cannabis. Particularly, information regarding our expectations of future results, targets, performance achievements, prospects or opportunities is forward-looking information. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “believe”, “estimate”, “plan”, “could”, “should”, “would”, “outlook”, “forecast”, “anticipate”, “foresee”, “continue” or the negative of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Forward-looking information is current as of the date it is made and is based on reasonable estimates and assumptions made by us at the relevant time in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. To the extent any forward-looking information in this press release constitutes “future oriented financial information” or “financial outlooks”, within the meaning of applicable securities laws, the purpose of such information being provided is to demonstrate the potential of the Company and readers are cautioned that this information may not be appropriate for any other purpose. However, we do not undertake to update any such forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws in Canada. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Many factors could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information as discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s 2020 Annual Information Form dated April 28, 2021 (the “AIF”). A copy of the AIF and the Company’s other publicly filed documents can be accessed under the Company’s profile on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“SEDAR”) at www.sedar.com. The Company cautions that the list of risk factors and uncertainties described in the AIF is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect its results. Readers are urged to consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.