High Tide Reports 2019 First Quarter Results featuring an 83% Increase in Revenue over the Same Period of the Previous Year

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CALGARY, April 1, 2019 /CNW/ - High Tide Inc. ("High Tide" or the "Company") (CSE:HITI) (Frankfurt:2LY), an Alberta-based, retail-focused cannabis corporation enhanced by the manufacturing and wholesale distribution of smoking accessories and cannabis lifestyle products, has filed its financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2019 ending January 31st, the highlights of which are included in this news release. The full set of Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis can be viewed by visiting High Tide's website at www.hightideinc.com, its profile page on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or the Company's CSE profile page at www.thecse.com.

First Quarter 2019 Financial Highlights

• For the quarter ended January 31, 2019, the total assets of the Company increased by 51% to $39,124, 925 from $25,922,494 as at October 31, 2019.
• High Tide had a working capital surplus of $14,994,180 (October 31, 2018 - $14,919,817), mainly due to the increase in liabilities resulting from expanded operations as the company has begun to operate Canna Cabana and has acquired Grasscity.
• Revenue for the quarter ended January 31, 2019 increased by 83%, to $5,000,688 from $2,737,325 for the same period in the previous year, primarily due to the acquisition of Grasscity, the operations of Canna Cabana which began generating revenue on October 27th, 2018 and new customers in High Tide's Wholesale Segment.
• Gross margin in the first quarter of 2019 increased by 23%, to $1,789,583 from $1,452,089 in the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the increase in sales volume.
• For the three months ended January 31, 2019, the Company generated a loss of $3,821,515 (2018 – income of $325,496) and had net operating cash outflows of $3,942,631 (2018 – inflows of $202,031). The negative income and cashflows are primarily driven by costs incurred to start High Tide and Canna Cabana (neither of which were operating during this period in the prior year), which resulted in hiring permanent staff for both administration and retail operations, as well as incurring professional fees and increased rent.

First Quarter 2019 Corporate Highlights

• On November 13, 2018, High Tide announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, RGR Canada Inc. had received from Aurora Cannabis Inc. its largest ever wholesale purchase order for smoking accessories.
• On November 20, 2018, the Company announced that it had obtained a receipt for its final long form prospectus filed with the securities regulatory authorities in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.
• On December 13, 2018, High Tide closed the sale of senior unsecured convertible debentures of the Company under the brokered private placement, pursuant to which it issued 10,000 debentures at a price of $1,000 per Debenture to Aurora Cannabis Inc. as well as 1,330 debentures to other participants for gross proceeds of $11,330,000.
• On December 17, 2018, the Company's common shares commenced trading publicly on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the stock symbol "HITI" at the opening of the market.
• On December 19, 2018, High Tide announced the successful closing its Grasscity acquisition.
• On January 7, 2019, the Company opened its fifth Canna Cabana retail store, situated on 111th Avenue Northwest in Edmonton, Alberta.
• On January 9, 2019, High Tide announced that senior executives of the Company were to be featured speakers at the AltaCorp-ATB 7th Annual Institutional Investor Conference in Toronto, Ontario from January 8-10, 2019, at the Lift & Co. Cannabis Expo Industry Day in Vancouver, British Columbia on Thursday, January 10, 2019 and at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Miami, Florida from January 15-16, 2019.
• On January 24, 2019, the Company opened two additional Canna Cabana retail stores in Alberta, the first located at 10831 100 Street in Grande Prairie and the second located at Unit 101, 3342 Parsons Road NW in Edmonton.
• On January 30, 2019, High Tide announced that it had signed letters of intent to acquire two cannabis retail locations in Saskatchewan from two separate vendors.
• On January 31, 2019, the Company announced that it had listed its common shares for trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the securities identification code "WKN: A2PBPS" and the ticker symbol "2LY".
• Subsequent to the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2019, in chronological order, High Tide:
• Was selected by a winner of one of the 25 opportunities to apply for a licence to operate a cannabis retail store as a result of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario's (the "AGCO") Expression of Interest Application Lottery (the "Lottery");
• Was selected to assist with the establishment and operation of a retail cannabis store by a second winner of one of the 25 opportunities to apply for a licence to operate a cannabis retail store as a result of the AGCO's Lottery;
• Opened its eighth Canna Cabana retail store, which is located at Unit #116, 5305 Magasin Avenue in the city of Beaumont, Alberta;
• Opened its ninth Canna Cabana retail store, which is located at #105, 330 10th Street NW in Calgary, Alberta;
• Opened its tenth Canna Cabana retail store, which is located at 11032 Elbow Drive SW in Calgary, Alberta;
• Announced its year-end 2018 financial results;
• Was selected to assist with establishing and operating a retail cannabis store by a third winner of one of only 25 opportunities to apply for an operator's licence as a result of the AGCO's Lottery; and
• Opened its 11th Canna Cabana retail store, which is located at 100 Stockton Avenue in Okotoks, Alberta.

SUMMARY OF KEY FINANCIAL MEASURES
For the three months ended January 31:

$ Millions (except where noted)		2019		2018
Revenue	$	5.0	$	2.7
Gross Margin	$	1.8	$	1.5
Gross Margin Percentage		35.8%		53.0%
Total Expenses	$	(6.8)	$	(0.7)
Income (Loss) Before Taxes	$	(5.1)	$	0.3
Income (Loss) for the Period	$	(3.8)	$	0.3
Income (Loss) Per Share (Basic)	$	(0.02)	$	0.01
Income (Loss) Per Share (Diluted)	$	(0.02)	$	0.01
$ Millions (except where noted)		January 31 2019		October 31 2018
Total Assets	$	39.1	$	25.9
Total Non-Current Liabilities	$	10.5	$	0.0
Total Liabilities	$	13.9	$	2.6
Total Equity	$	25.2	$	23.3

SUMMARY OF QUARTERLY MEASURES

(C$ in millions, except per share amounts)	Q1 2019	Q4 2018	Q3 2018	Q2 2018	Q1 2018
Revenue	5.0	2.1	2.2	1.7	2.7
Income (Loss) Before OCI	(3.8)	(3.8)	(0.6)	(0.4)	0.3
Basic EPS	(0.02)	(0.05)	(0.00)	(0.00)	0.01
Diluted EPS	(0.02)	(0.05)	(0.00)	(0.00)	0.01

About High Tide Inc.

High Tide is an Alberta-based, downstream cannabis corporation focused on the manufacturing and wholesale distribution of smoking accessories and cannabis lifestyle products. It is a vertically-integrated company in the Canadian cannabis market, with portfolio subsidiaries including RGR Canada Inc., Famous Brandz Inc., Kush West Distribution Inc., Smoker's Corner Ltd., Grasscity.com, Canna Cabana Inc. and the majority of KushBar Inc. High Tide's strategy as a parent company is to extend and strengthen its integrated value chain, while providing a complete customer experience and maximizing shareholder value. Key industry investors in High Tide include Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) and FSD Pharma Inc. (CSE: HUGE) (OTC: FSDDF) (FRA: 0K9).

Representing the core of High Tide's business, RGR Canada Inc. is a high-quality and innovative designer, manufacturer and distributor of cannabis accessories. Famous Brandz Inc. is a dominant manufacturer of licensed lifestyle accessories, through partnerships with celebrities and entertainment companies including Snoop Dogg and Paramount Pictures. Famous Brandz products are sold to wholesalers and retailers around the world. Founded in 2009 and approved by the Canadian Franchise Association, Smoker's Corner Ltd. is among Canada's largest counter-culture chains with 12 locations. Kush West Distribution is in the process of becoming a cannabis wholesaler in the province of Saskatchewan. Based in Amsterdam since 2000, Grasscity.com is the world's preeminent and most searchable online retailer of smoking accessories and cannabis lifestyle products with approximately 5.8 million site visits annually. With the deregulation of recreational cannabis for adult use across Canada, Canna Cabana Inc., with 11 current locations, is in the process of becoming a sizeable retail brand with a sophisticated yet playful customer experience, while KushBar Inc. is a retail concept that will also be focused on the valued Canadian cannabis consumer. 

For more information about High Tide Inc., please visit www.hightideinc.com and its profile page on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking information or forward-looking statements. Such information and statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements" are made as of the date of this news release or as of the date of the effective date of information described in this news release, as applicable. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by use of words such as "outlook", "expects", "intend", "forecasts", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "envisages, "assumes", "needs", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", or variations thereof, or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "can", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms or similar expressions, and other similar terminology) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including but not limited to the ability of High Tide to execute on its business plan and that High Tide will receive one or multiple licenses from Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis, British Columbia's Liquor Distribution Branch or the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority permitting it to carry on its Canna Cabana Inc. and KushBar Inc. businesses. High Tide considers these assumptions to be reasonable in the circumstances. However, there can be no assurance that any one or more of the government, industry, market, operational or financial targets as set out herein will be achieved. Inherent in the forward-looking statements are known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

The forward‐looking statements contained herein are current as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, High Tide does not have any obligation to advise any person if it becomes aware of any inaccuracy in or omission from any forward-looking statement, nor does it intend, or assume any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances. Any and all forward-looking statements included in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement, and except as otherwise indicated, are made as of the date of this news release.

SOURCE High Tide Inc.

please contact Nick Kuzyk, Chief Strategy Officer & SVP Capital Markets at High Tide Inc.; Tel: [phone]; Email: [email protected]; Web: www.HighTideInc.com.