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Aurora Cannabis tumbles double digits after saying it won't turn a profit until next year as weed-industry earnings flag

Sep 12, 2019, 19:47 IST

Small marijuana plants grow in a lab at the new Commercial Cannabis Production Program at Niagara College in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, October 9, 2018REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

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  • Aurora Cannabis sank as much as 11% on Thursday after missing analyst earnings estimates and pushing its profitability target to fiscal 2020.
  • The company's disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter figures mirror other cannabis companies. Canadian peer Canopy Growth missed quarterly expectations in August, with revenue falling under the lowest analyst estimate.
  • Aurora previously forecast positive earnings would arrive in its fiscal fourth quarter. The cannabis producer's executive chairman now sees the metric turning positive in fiscal 2020, Reuters reported.
  • Watch Aurora Cannabis trade live here.

Aurora Cannabis dropped as much as 10% on Thursday after posting disappointing earnings data and pushing its profitability goal into the next fiscal year.

The world's second-largest cannabis company posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue figures below analyst estimates, despite revising its forecast lower in August. The move mirrors Canopy Growth's August 15 earnings drop, as revenue landed below the lowest analyst estimate.

Here are the key numbers (in Canadian dollars):

Adjusted EBITDA loss: $11.7 million, versus the $5.6 million estimate

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Net revenue: $98.9 million, versus the $107.9 million estimate

Gross margin: 58%, versus the 60.7% estimate

Aurora executives also walked back previous predictions of profitability in 2019, pushing the goal to the next fiscal year. The company forecasted positive EBITDA for its fiscal fourth quarter at the start of 2019, but went on to omit the same time frame in an August news release, simply saying the company was "on track" to reach the goal in the future.

The Wednesday earnings report pulled further away from its original guidance, missing the forecasted metric and saying it expects adjusted EBITDA "to continue to improve in the future." Aurora's chairman set a wider expectation for the next fiscal year, Reuters reported.

"We provided that guidance ... because we assumed there would be a more aggressive roll-out of retail outlets and if that was the case, we would have no problem reaching that milestone," executive chairman Michael Singer told Reuters. He added the company is "very confident" it will reach a form of profitability in the next fiscal year.

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The cannabis producer should be able to hit its goal by the second quarter of fiscal 2020, Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF manager Tim Seymour said. The company should focus on improving its gross margin as similar Canadian cannabis companies have struggled in boosting the metric, he added.

Aurora has the largest position in the ETF's portfolio by market value, according to Bloomberg. The fund also holds peers Canopy Growth and Aphria.

The cannabis producer closed at $6.49 per share Wednesday, up about 31% year-to-date.

Aurora Cannabis has 11 "buy" ratings, six "hold" ratings, and one "sell" rating from analysts, with a consensus price target of $9.63, according to Bloomberg data.

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