Ayr Wellness Reports Second Quarter 2022 Results
MIAMI, Aug. 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ayr Wellness Inc. (CSE: AYR.A, OTCQX: AYRWF) (“Ayr” or the “Company”), a leading vertically integrated U.S. multi-state cannabis operator (“MSO”), is reporting financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2022. Unless otherwise noted, all results are presented in U.S. dollars.
Over the past few months, we have achieved many of the key transformational milestones to operationalize Ayr’s core footprint, and we are now moving to optimize this footprint for substantial growth. We’re doing this in the face of macro headwinds from the broader economy, but it’s never been clearer that cannabis is a consumer staple that is here to stay.
Jonathan Sandelman, Founder and CEO of Ayr
“Q2 2022 results were in line with our expectations, and we now look ahead to the second half of 2022. Our second half growth will be slower than previously expected, but the earnings power of the business remains outstanding. We continue to make investments in people and processes, while remaining prudent through these turbulent economic times. With our core operating footprint in place, the vast majority of our capex behind us, and a strong, $117 million cash position on our balance sheet, we believe that we are well-placed to weather this economic environment and emerge stronger on the other side.”
Second Quarter and Recent Highlights
- Northeast
- Began serving adult-use customers at three New Jersey dispensaries in Woodbridge, Union and Eatontown.
- Completed the first harvest from second New Jersey cultivation facility in August.
- Opened first adult-use dispensaries, one in Boston’s Back Bay and one in Watertown, in July.
- Received state regulatory approval to convert Somerville, Massachusetts dispensary to adult use, pending local approvals.
- Received state regulatory approval to begin phased production at new cultivation expansion in Massachusetts.
- Launched the award-winning flower brand, LIT, for wholesale as well as retail purchase in four Ayr Greater Boston locations.
- Announced the opening of ninth affiliated medical dispensary in Pennsylvania, AYR Indiana, in July.
- Southwest
- Completed the first sale from new 80,000 square foot cultivation facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
- Launched Levia water-soluble tinctures in Arizona and Nevada, representing the first expansion of Levia outside of Massachusetts, in August.
- Ayr’s Kynd flower continues to be the #1 selling flower brand in Nevada.
- Florida
- Opened three new dispensaries during the second quarter and an additional two stores in July and August, bringing Ayr’s total footprint to 50 dispensaries across the state.i
- Biomass yields up 125% during the first half of 2022 when compared to the same period of 2021.
- 37 unique strains being grown at Gainesville cultivation campus, with each store averaging ~16 strains available.
M&A Highlights
- Closed acquisition of Herbal Remedies Dispensaries, LLC, an operator of two licensed retail dispensaries in Quincy, Illinois on May 25, 2022.
Financing and Capital Structure
- Ended the quarter with a cash balance of $116.7 million.
- Closed $81.5 million of real estate financing transactions during the quarter, bringing the YTD total to $108 million with an annualized blended cost of capital of 7.8%.
- Approximately 68.9 million fully diluted shares outstanding based on a treasury method calculation, as of June 30, 2022.ii
- Deployed $17.9 million of capital expenditures in Q2.
Outlook
Based on the results to date coupled with an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop, Ayr is updating its previously issued guidance regarding 2022 financial results.
The Company expects Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Operating Income to grow approximately 10% sequentially from Q2 2022 to Q3 2022, and an acceleration in the pace of sequential growth in Q4 2022.
The Company’s expectations for future results are based on the assumptions and risks detailed in its MD&A for the period ended June 30, 2022 as filed on SEDAR.
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i Pending the completed re-location of Ayr’s Dania Beach store.
ii Includes pending M&A and excludes Ayr granted but unvested service-based LTIP shares totaling 6.4 million.
Conference Call
Ayr CEO Jonathan Sandelman, Co-COO Jennifer Drake, and CFO Brad Asher will host a conference call tomorrow, followed by a question-and-answer period.
Conference Call Date: Thursday, August 18, 2022
Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern time
Toll-free dial-in number: (800) 319-4610
International dial-in number: (604) 638-5340
Conference ID: 10019872
Please call the conference telephone number 5-10 minutes prior to the start time. An operator will register your name and organization. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact the Company’s investor relations team at AYR@elevate-ir.com.
The conference call will be broadcast live and available for replay here.
A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available for one month beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, August 18, 2022.
Toll-free replay number: (855) 669-9658
International replay number: (412) 317-0088
Replay ID: 9258
Financial Statements
Certain financial information reported in this news release is extracted from Ayr’s Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021. Ayr files its financial statements and MD&A on SEDAR and with the SEC. All financial information contained in this news release is qualified in its entirety by reference to such financial statements and MD&A.
Definition and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
The Company reports certain non-GAAP measures that are used to evaluate the performance of its businesses and the performance of their respective segments, as well as to manage their capital structures. As non-GAAP measures generally do not have a standardized meaning, they may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Securities regulators require such measures to be clearly defined and reconciled with their most comparable GAAP measures.
Rather, these are provided as additional information to complement those GAAP measures by providing further understanding of the results of the operations of the Company from management’s perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation, nor as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s financial information reported under GAAP. Non-GAAP measures used to analyze the performance of the Company’s businesses include “Adjusted EBITDA” and “Adjusted Gross Profit.”
The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding the Company’s performances and may be useful to investors because they allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. These financial measures are intended to provide investors with supplemental measures of the Company’s operating performances and thus highlight trends in the Company’s core businesses that may not otherwise be apparent when solely relying on the GAAP measures.
Adjusted EBITDA
“Adjusted EBITDA” represents loss from operations, as reported under GAAP, before interest and tax, adjusted to exclude non-core costs, other non-cash items, including depreciation and amortization, and further adjusted to remove non-cash stock-based compensation, the accounting for the incremental costs to acquire cannabis inventory in a business combination, acquisition related costs, start-up costs and the gain on sale of assets.
Adjusted Gross Profit
“Adjusted Gross Profit” represents gross profit, as reported, adjusted to exclude the accounting for the incremental costs to acquire cannabis inventory in a business combination, interest, depreciation and amortization, and start-up costs.
A reconciliation of how Ayr calculates Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Gross Profit is provided in the tables appended below. Additional reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Gross Profit and other disclosures concerning non-GAAP measures are provided in our MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021.
Assumptions and Risks
Forward-looking information in this release is subject to the assumptions and risks as described in our MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022.
Additional Information
For more information about the Company’s Q2 2022 operations and outlook, please view Ayr’s corporate presentation posted in the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.ayrwellness.com.
About Ayr Wellness Inc.
Ayr is an expanding vertically integrated, U.S. multi-state cannabis operator. Based on the belief that everything starts with the quality of the plant, the Company’s mission is to cultivate the finest quality cannabis at scale and deliver remarkable experiences to its customers every day.
Ayr’s leadership team brings proven expertise in growing successful businesses through disciplined operational and financial management, and is committed to driving positive impact for customers, employees and the communities they serve. For more information, please visit www.ayrwellness.com.
