WeedMD Reports Fiscal Year 2018 Financial Results, Revenue Surges 465%

TORONTO, May 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WeedMD Inc. (TSXV: WMD) (OTCQX: WDDMF) (FSE:4WE) (“WeedMD” or the “Company”), a federally-licensed producer and distributor of medical-grade cannabis, is pleased to report its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending December 31, 2018.

WeedMD reports revenues of $8.2M in its second year of operations representing a year-over-year increase of 465%. Revenues were driven by a combination of increased cannabis sales to medical patients, supply agreements for Canada’s adult-use market in addition to the sale of wholesale cannabis and genetics to other licensed producers. The Company is well financed with a strong cash balance of $21.2M as of December 31, 2018.


For the years ended December 31		2018	2017
		($)	($)
Revenue		8,203,273	1,451,062
Net and Comprehensive Loss		(895,128)	(8,805,222)
Adjusted Operating Loss*		(11,737,061)	(7,042,047)
Cash Used from Operations		(615,514)	(2,986,928)
Earnings (Loss) per Share (Basic and Fully Diluted)		(0.01)	(0.15)


As at	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
		($)	($)
Cash and Cash Equivalents		21,223,641	24,695,152
Total Assets		88,068,657	39,605,187
Total Liabilities		10,976,340	14,472,639
Working Capital		29,838,984	25,713,807
*Adjusted Operating Loss is not a recognized measurement under IFRS and this data may not be comparable to data presented by other companies. Management believes Adjusted Operating Loss to be an important measure of the Company’s day-to-day operations, by excluding non-cash gains and losses and/or non-recurring items.

Corporate Highlights Fiscal Year 2018

Corporate Milestones

closed a $34.5M bought deal equity financing
entered into a joint venture with Phivida Holdings Inc. (CSE:VIDA) to manufacture and produce cannabis-infused beverages
completed strategic partnership with TruTrace Technologies Inc. (TSXV:TTT) (formerly Blockstrain Technology Corp.)
interlisted on OTCQX® Best Market and secured Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) eligibility and commenced trading under the ticker symbol (OTXQX:WDDMF)

Production-Related Milestones

completed the retrofit and licensing of Phase I, initial 44,000 square feet of the Strathroy greenhouse in June 2018, with successful initial harvest in September 2018
secured a Health Canada sales licence for its Strathroy greenhouse
obtained approval from Health Canada for six additional 10,000 sq. ft. rooms at Strathroy greenhouse in December 2018, with first harvests beginning in March 2019

Sales, Marketing & Business Development Milestones

commenced sales of cannabis oil products under Entourage and Axis brands
registered WeedMD’s strains under a comprehensive cannabis genetics archiving platform as the pilot for TruTrace’s cannabis validation program
executed supply arrangements with four provinces and completed first shipments to Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation (“OCRC”) – operating as the Ontario Cannabis Store (“OCS”), Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission (“AGLC”), British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (“BCLDB”), Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (“NSLC”)
exported our world-class cannabis genetics internationally to both Australia and Israel
announced a retail sales distribution agreement with Lifford Cannabis Solutions, led by cannabis advocate, influencer and media personality Lisa Campbell, for British Columbia and Alberta
entered into an agreement to become a medical cannabis supplier to Shoppers Drug Mart
delivered first shipments of WeedMD-branded cannabis for the launch of adult-use market on October 17, 2018

Key Leadership Appointments

appointed Keith Merker as CEO (formerly CFO)
appointed Kevin McGovern, Chairman of McGovern Capital and founder of the beverage company SoBe, the fastest growing beverage company in the US as Board Director
appointed Dr. Jonas Vanderzwan, a physician with more than 15 years of primary care experience as Medical Director and Chair of the Clinical Advisory Board
appointed Michael Pesner, President of Hermitage Canada Finance Inc. and previously partner at KPMG for 26 years, as Board Director and Chair of Audit Committee
expanded senior leadership team with the following hires in 2018:
° Nichola Thompson, CFO (interim CFO in 2018, affirmed as CFO April 2019)
° Josephine DesLauriers, Senior Vice President, People
°  Brett Moon, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing
°  Marianella delaBarrera, Vice President, Communications & Corporate Affairs
°  Derek Pedro, Chief Cannabis Officer (announced in March 2019)
° Alex Sibilev, Vice President, Compliance and Global Regulatory Affairs (announced in March 2019)

Subsequent Events

announced outdoor cannabis cultivation at its licensed 98-acre Strathroy Property
submitted an amendment to existing licence to include initial Phase I, 25-acre outdoor grow
entered into a $39M debt facility with BMO and purchased the 98-acre Strathroy property including indoor greenhouse, land and infrastructure
purchased 60 acres of land directly adjacent to Strathroy property for outdoor cultivation for up to 110 acres or more than 100,000 kgs by 2020
secured Health Canada Standard Processing Licence for Strathroy facility
announced partnership with Pita Pit to launch Pioneer Cannabis Co. (“Pioneer”), a retail cannabis platform for Ontario and rest of Canada
secured approval to supply cannabis to two further provinces – Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation (“MBLL”) and Saskatchewan Liquor & Gaming Authority (“SLGA”)
Pioneer signed agreement with Ontario cannabis retail lottery winner and operator to open its first store in Burlington, Ontario
expanded corporate footprint with offices in downtown Toronto and London, Ontario to drive commercial growth

Greenhouse Construction Timetable

The ramp up of the Strathroy facility continues on schedule as follows:

as of December 31, 2018, the Company had secured cultivation licences for Phase 1 and Phase II, providing 110,000 sq. ft. of production space with 10 hybrid-greenhouse cultivation rooms, including clone and vegetation rooms, in full cultivation
submitted an amendment to Strathroy licence for Phase III of its expansion, including licensing an additional 10 rooms, or 110,000 sq. ft. of production space, expecting to begin cultivation in June 2019
anticipates completion of Phase IV construction of two large greenhouse rooms by end of Q2-2019, adding a further 308,000 sq. ft. of cultivation capacity and planning to plant and harvest in 2019
on March 27, 2019, announced plans to launch outdoor cultivation on its 98-acre Strathroy property with plans to grow on 27 acres of workable land to be planted in June and harvested in Fall 2019 and an additional 23 acres in 2020
on April 10, 2019, subsequently announced the purchase of an additional 60 acres of adjacent land bringing total planned outdoor cultivation space to more than 100 acres or 100,000 kgs in 2020

Strathroy Cultivation Expansion & 2019 Harvest Schedule

“Our team achieved a number of key milestones in 2018 as we rapidly built out and licensed our industry-leading production platform in record time to address the onset of the adult-use market. We signed key supply agreements with six provinces and added Shoppers Drug Mart to our distribution network. With our focus on operational excellence, we added key members to round out a formidable leadership team,” said Keith Merker, CEO of WeedMD. “Our solid base of operations and rapidly expanding production platforms sets the pace for completing our build out this year. With our greenhouse and outdoor platforms, WeedMD is well-positioned for very significant organic growth in 2019. We look forward to taking WeedMD to the next level with the launch of new brands, the roll out of new products, the build out of an international presence in addition to expanding our extraction and processing operations whilst exploring M&A opportunities to drive shareholder value.”

The Company’s financial statements and related management’s discussion and analysis for the period are available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars and are in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards unless otherwise noted.

For more information, access WeedMD’s investor presentation here and recently updated corporate video here.

About WeedMD Inc.
WeedMD Inc. is the publicly-traded parent company of WeedMD Rx Inc., a federally-licensed producer and distributor of cannabis products for both the medical and adult-use markets. The Company owns and operates two facilities: a 26,000 sq. ft. indoor facility in Aylmer, Ontario and a 158-acre state-of-the-art greenhouse and outdoor facility located in Strathroy, Ontario. The Company currently has 136,000 square feet of licensed production space across its facilities and is expected to have a total footprint of more than 550,000 square feet of indoor and greenhouse production in addition to more than 25 acres of outdoor cultivation space online in the first half of 2019. WeedMD has a multi-channeled distribution strategy that includes selling directly to medical patients, strategic relationships across the seniors’ market and supply agreements with Shoppers Drug Mart as well as six provincial distribution agencies.

Follow WeedMD On:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weedmd/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/weedmd/?originalSubdomain=fr
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeedMD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weedmd/

For further information, please contact:

WeedMD Inc.

Keith Merker, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 519-765-2440 Ext. 201
Email: investor@weedmd.com

To learn more, visit us at www.weedmd.com

For Media Inquiries:

Marianella delaBarrera
VP, Communications & Corporate Affairs
Tel: 416-897-6644
Email: marianella@weedmd.com

Source: WeedMD Inc.

Original press release