Akanda Corp
NASDAQ-listed international medical cannabis operator Akanda Corp has seen its stock drop by double digits this week amid the release of its half-year results.
For the six months to June 30, 2024, Akanda reported a significant revenue increase of 270%, rising from $128,741 to $477,006.
It’s worth noting that these revenue figures are now solely derived from its UK medical cannabis business Canmart, following the completion of the sale of RPK Biopharma and the cessation of other operations earlier this year.
As such, the year-on-year comparison does not include the revenue lost through the sale of RPK, which is now classed as a ‘discontinued operation’.
RPK’s divestiture was also a major contributor to a significant reduction in net losses, which fell from $5.88m to $2.68m during the period.
Net losses from discontinued operations fell from $3.22m to just $461,405, highlighting the financial burden RPK had on the company’s operations.
Meanwhile, net losses from continuing operations, also fell from $2.66m to $2.22m, which it attributed to lower operating expenses.
Akanda attributes its significant revenue growth in the first half of 2024 to increased sales activities within its UK-based subsidiary, Canmart. This boost resulted from enhanced distribution efforts of various cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs).
During the period, Akanda also raised over $8.6m through various offerings and loans, including substantial proceeds from prefunded warrants and direct stock issuances, improving liquidity significantly.
This led to an improved its cash flow, ending June with $6m in cash, positioning it well for upcoming operational needs and strategic expansions.
While the half-year results present a much leaner balance sheet for the company, its stock price does not yet reflect this, and since late October it has fallen below the minimum threshold ($1) for NASDAQ listing.
If the company is unable to rectify this continued drop in share value, it may be forced to resort to a third stock split to prevent being delisted
Flora Growth
It’s NASDAQ-listed stablemate Flora Growth has conversely seen its stock price increase by over 20% this week.
Yesterday, Flora Growth announced a major new partnership with Curaleaf, seeing it further solidify its foothold in the booming German medical cannabis market.
Under the new deal, Flora will be licenced to import Curaleaf’s medical cannabis strains and products into Germany, where it says it is ‘focused on expanding its distribution network across the country, leveraging its existing relationships with over 1,200 pharmacies.’
On the same day, it announced the launch of its ‘parallel import business’, which will initially focus on importing a ‘diverse range of pharmaceuticals at competitive prices’ to the German market, with a view to expanding into other EU states in the future.
In a parallel import (PI) business, products are usually procured from countries where they are offered at a lower cost due to factors like exchange rates, taxes, or other market conditions.
These items are then imported into another country, where they are sold at prices that are typically lower than those of officially imported or distributed products.
This new venture follows the appointment of former Managing Director of CC Pharma, a major German cannabis importer, which was later acquired by Tilray.
Dr Manfred Ziegler is credited with helping establish CC Pharma as one of Europe’s leading pharmaceutical importers.
“Our vision is to become a market leader in the European pharmaceutical and medical cannabis market,” Flora Growth’s CEO Clifford Starke said.
“Our current access to an extensive distribution network of German pharmaceuticals represents the perfect platform to launch the PI Business. Our goal is to deliver accessible pharmaceuticals to European patients.”
Argent Biopharma
Argent Biopharma also updated investors on its latest quarterly performance this week, following numerous major fund raises to fund its drug development programmes.
In the three months to September 30, 2024, Argent Biopharma raised US$2m through a private placement, issuing 2.5 million new ordinary shares at an issue price of US$0.80 (approximately A$1.20), with a 1 for 2 attaching option exercisable at US$1.20 (approximately A$1.80).
Post period, the company raised a further A$200,000 through another private placement, issuing 666,667 new ordinary shares at an issue price of A$0.30 which it says will go towards advancing its drug development projects, including CannEpil and CimetrA, in the US and EU markets.
As of September 30, the company reported A$311,000 in cash reserves. During the quarter, Argent BioPharma made payments totaling A$107,000 to related parties, which included fees to executive and non-executive directors. The cash outflows included A$6,000 related to the cost of sales and inventory production and A$471,000 for research and development expenses.
As previously reported, the period also saw the company complete its delisting from the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), and it says it is also advancing discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to transfer its listing category from Equity Shares (International Commercial Companies Secondary Listing) to the Equity Shares (Commercial Companies) category (ESCC) of the FCA’s Official List.
