Althea
Althea chief executive Josh Fegan has described the first half of the 2022 financial year as “exciting for the cannabis industry” as the firm reported revenue of almost A$9.4m, up 84% on the previous corresponding period.
The pharmaceutical division chalked up revenues of $5m from its Australian medicinal cannabis operation, a rise of 21%, with sales in the UK generating $975,000, up 108%.
Its Canada-based Peak Processing business achieved revenues of $3.6m.
Losses for the period narrowed 15% to $7m.
“The first half of FY22 was exciting for the cannabis industry with widespread legalisation reforms, relaxing of regulations, R&D innovation and considerable demand across all areas of the global supply chain,” Fegan said.
“Performance wise, the first half has seen both the pharmaceutical and recreational division of AGH experience strong growth and market expansion, with record receipts from customers recorded for both the month and quarter ending December 31.”
Bod Australia
Bod Australia’s dossier to the UK Food Service Agency (FSA) to register its cannabis extract as a novel food has been validated, paving the way for registration.
The dossier is currently under review by the regulator and final approval is expected in the coming months.
The move follows changes by the FSA that required products containing CBD to be subject to novel food standards, with a deadline for submissions of March 2021.
Approval will allow Bod’s range of CBD products to continue to be sold in the UK and provide an opportunity to pursue additional partnerships to introduce new products across other verticals including skincare, beverages, lifestyle, functional food and pet treats.
CEO Jo Patterson said: “While there are a wide range of CBD products available in the UK, the recent regulatory changes are anticipated to lead to a consolidation in the sector, as those products without a valid registration… cease to sell.
“[Bod] has been exploring product range expansion options for some time and multiple verticals have been earmarked for growth.”
ECS Botanics
ECS Botanics saw revenues climb three-fold to A$2.4 million in the first half of the financial year as losses narrowed to $2.7m.
The ASX-listed company said the revenue increase was driven by strong demand for cannabis oil and dried flower both in Australia and international markets.
Improving sales through ECS’s hemp food and wellness division also contributed to the 312% growth. After tax losses improved 10% to £2.7m.
Managing director Alex Keach said: “The significant increase in revenue during the first half highlights the strong demand that ECS continues to witness for its high-quality GMP cannabis products as well as our range of hemp food and wellness products.”
Increased production saw its cost of goods sold climb from $577,000 to $1.6m.
Total costs included a near-$700,000 write off of inventory which ECS attributed to its “exceptionally high quality standards”.
It said an alternative use may be found for the product, without elaborating.
Shares in ECS Botanics opened today at $0.028c.
Little Green Pharma
The Italian Government has awarded a tender to Little Green Pharma (LGP) to ship medicinal cannabis flower valued at around A$315,000 into the country from its Danish facility.
LGP said while the shipment size is “not material”, the award means the firm has joined a small group of international producers qualified to supply cannabis flower medicines into Italy and gives it access to a total addressable market estimated at around A$10 billion.
It added Italian Government tenders impose some of the highest GMP product quality standards globally, with LGP one of two suppliers bidding and only Aurora having been successful in the past.
Live Verdure
Live Verdure has signed a supply agreement with TruLife Distribution which will see its 13 Seeds health and wellness products available via e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar retailers in the US.
TruLife is working with Live Verdure to ensure all product labelling complies with US Food and Drug Administration regulations ahead of the launch.
The move comes after ASX-listed Live Verdure achieved a record performance in the quarter ending December 31 2021, with online sales in Australia up by 58% to A$509,000, the firm’s fifth consecutive quarter of online revenue growth since it listed in December 2020.
Managing director Ran Vaingold described TruLife as “the perfect partner” to enter the US retail market with and to scale up sales.
Meanwhile, the company reported a 206% increase in revenue for the half year ending December 2021 (H1 FY22), up from A$284k in H1 FY21 and driven by online sales. It also received $116k in other income during the period, mostly from previous R&D tax incentive grants.
Losses for H1 FY22 were $2.02 million, down 15% on the previous corresponding period.
Creso Pharma
Creso Pharma is set to launch a new range of vaporisers as it expands its footprint in North America via wholly owned Canadian subsidiary Mernova Medicinal.
The new handheld vaporiser product, to be sold under the Ritual Gold (or similar) brand, will mark Creso’s entry into the global cannabis vaporiser market.
The new range will utilise cannabis inventory and production by-products which are not optimal for retail sale, driving increased revenue from unused material.
CEO and managing director William Lay added: “This will allow the company to introduce a new product category that is expected to provide incremental revenue at high gross margins.”
UPDATE: Creso has entered a trading halt pending an announcement about a capital raise. The halt will remain in place until the company releases more details or the start of trading on Thursday (February 24).
Emyria
Emyria has expanded its proprietary MDMA analogue library in partnership with the University of Western Australia (UWA).
Managing director Dr Michael Winlo said the program to develop unique MDMA-analogues for psychedelic-assisted therapies and other neuropsychiatric disorders was making substantial progress.
He added: “Following our recent positive screening results, a further 17 unique compounds have already been developed with partner UWA, and are now ready for screening.
“Many more are within reach with robust synthetic methodology well established, and key starting materials in hand.”
Medlab Clinical
Medlab’s has reported revenue of A$3m in H1 FY22, up 45% on the previous corresponding period. The figure includes a $1.2m gain on the disposal of its Australian nutraceuticals business to PharmaCare.
The company recorded a net loss after tax of $3.1m for the period, down 42% on H1 FY21.
Medlab held a cash balance of $11.2m as at December 31, 2021 with total assets of $16.1m and liabilities of $4.2m.
