VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 21, 2020 /CNW/ - Zenabis Global Inc. (TSX: ZENA) ("Zenabis" or the "Company") today provided a corporate update.
Highlights
- Zenabis Atholville has been granted Good Agricultural and Collecting Practices (GACP) Certification by the Control Union Medical Cannabis Standard ("CUMCS"). Obtaining this certification provides documented evidence that Zenabis has met CUMCS' strict standards for quality and consistency in the cultivation and harvest of medical cannabis. Zenabis is the first Canadian company to be CUMCS certified, which is a requirement for some export jurisdictions
- ZenPharm, the Company's European Union-based joint venture in Malta, has successfully completed its EU GMP audit and is expecting formal EU GMP certification in early 2021
- In anticipation of formal EU GMP certification, Zenabis has shipped this week approximately 50 kg of EU GMP approved dried cannabis to ZenPharm
- The Re-Up 510-threaded vapourizer line will be launched in the province of Alberta in December and has already been launched in Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick
- In December, Zenabis completed an additional export shipment of packaged medicinal cannabis to Australia
- The conditions included in the agreement to sell our Delta facility have been met and the sales is scheduled to be completed on December 30, 2020 as previously announced
- Zenabis has appointed Echelon Capital Markets ("Echelon") as financial advisors with the goal of obtaining new financing, on commercially reasonable terms, to repay its existing Senior Secured Debentures of $58.9 million.
Shai Altman, Chief Executive Officer of Zenabis, stated, "Zenabis' continues to increase sales in all categories and across all channels and this is a great testament to the quality, value proposition, and uniqueness of our product lines and Brands. It is this foundation on which we will continue to build and expand the Company. We continue to drive our strategic efforts behind focus, prioritization, and efficiencies in all aspects of our operations. Additionally, by entering into this agreement with Echelon we are confident that together we will be successful in obtaining new debt financing with which to repay our Senior Debentures. If successful, this project will enable the Company to significantly reduce its cost of capital and thus improve its cash flows."
Facilities Update
Zenabis Atholville
Cultivation
Zenabis Atholville remains in steady-state production from a cultivation standpoint, with harvest volumes for 2020 expected to achieve design capacity. Zenabis' is in the midst of launching three additional cultivars grown at the Zenabis Atholville and Langley facilities into the Canadian recreational market.
Extraction
Zenabis Atholville's extraction operations continue to run at capacity as a result of increasing demand for the Company's Cannabis 2.0 products, including its Namaste PAX Era and Re-Up 510 threaded vaporizer cartridges. The Company continues to source additional distillate from third parties in order to meet this demand.
Zenabis Langley
Zenabis Langley cultivation remains in steady state and in conjunction with production from Zenabis Atholville, cultivation output remains sufficient to meet current market demand without further expansion of Zenabis Langley.
Zenabis Stellarton
Zenabis Stellarton is currently operating as the Company's centre of excellence for pre-roll packaging and distribution and will be the nexus of the Company's Cannabis 2.0 products. With the large increase in demand for the Namaste and Re-Up pre-rolls, the company recently hired additional staff at the site to support the operations and meet demand.
Business Development Update
Recreational Cannabis
Recreational cannabis sales continue to grow as a result of the quality and price-competitiveness of Zenabis' portfolio of products as well as the introduction of new products such as three new strains which will ship to key provincial markets commencing in December and January, in both flower and pre-roll formats. The Company is expecting record monthly sales into Alberta in the month of December and sales continue to trend upwards in all of the nine provinces and three territories where our products are listed. The implementation of COVID-19-related lock-downs and other restrictions in the Company's key markets during the fourth quarter of 2020; however, may temporarily interrupt this upwards sales trend and the Company is accordingly revising its consolidated net revenue guidance for Q4 2020 to $22 million to $27 million comprised of $16 million to $19 million for the Cannabis segment and $6 million to $8 million for the Propagation segment. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the quarter is now expected to be $3 million to $5 million.
Sales of pre-rolls continue to grow with month-over-month sales increasing 9% on average for this category, for the eleven completed months of 2020, and 13% month-over-month growth over the last three months.
The company's refocusing efforts behind the key categories of flower, pre-rolls, and vapes is showing significant improvements in the availability of the company's products across all provincial customers
Cannabis 2.0 Update
The Company is working to rapidly increase distillate production in order to meet the current level of consumer demand. Re-Up 510 Vapes have now been launched in B.C., Ontario and New Brunswick, and shipments to Alberta starting in December. Listings are already in place in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Yukon and are expected to launch in these provinces and territories in the first quarter of 2021.
Oil sprays will be relaunched in the province of Quebec in late December or early January.
Commercial roll-out of edibles, commencing with gummies, have been delayed to the first or second quarter of 2021 as a result of quality concerns with the products produced by the Company's co-manufacturing partner. These concerns resulted in further re-evaluation of that partnership for the future.
The agreement with HYTN Beverages Inc. ("HYTN") has been terminated as a result of continuing delays on the part of HYTN in the commissioning of their production line. Zenabis is re-revaluating its beverages strategy and will engage with other potential co-manufacturing partners in the event that it considers the economic potential of this product category to be attractive.
Commercial production of trichrome concentrate products (such as hash) has been postponed until mid-2021 due to re-prioritization of the Company's product strategy to the most profitable growth categories.
Supply Agreements, Contract Cultivation Agreements, International Agreements, and Bulk Market Cannabis Sales
The following is a summary of the status of the various relations by contract or relationship type:
Contract or Arrangement Type |
Number of contracts or counterparties, status and current or expected volume |
Bulk – Canada |
Three ongoing arrangements, are currently shipping; with aggregate volume of up to 250 kg per month. |
Bulk – International |
Two ongoing arrangements with counterparties in Israel, with anticipated combined volume of up to 1,000 kg per month. Shipments have paused temporarily due to new import regulations; however, the Company has recently, successfully completed most of these requirements and shipments are expected to resume in Q1, 2021. All export shipments are subject to regulatory and import permits in the destination county as well as receipt of Health Canada export permits. |
Packaged – International |
The Company continues shipments to Australia with 60 kg shipped in the month of December. |
Bulk – EU GMP |
One executed contract for a minimum volume of 500 kg per year with commercial shipments awaiting receipt of ZenPharm's cannabis license from the Malta Medicines Authority. This is expected to occur in early 2021. ZenPharm successfully completed its EU GMP audit and expects to receive formal EU GMP certification, as well as its Cannabis license from the Malta Medicines Authority, in early 2021. A shipment of 50 kg of dried flower to ZenPharm has been completed this month. |
Contract Cultivation – Canada |
Two executed contracts for a potential volume of 200 kg per month. One agreement is on hold and one is being converted into a supply agreement. |
Prepaid Supply – Canada |
Two executed contracts with potential volume of more than 2,000 kg per month, with one operating in accordance with the contract, and one subject to dispute. |
Zenabis is currently in various stages of discussions with potential counterparties for additional agreements for bulk, contract cultivation, white label production, and other commercial agreements.
About Zenabis
Zenabis is a significant Canadian licensed cultivator of medical and recreational cannabis, and a propagator and cultivator of floral and vegetable products. Zenabis employs staff coast-to-coast, across facilities in Atholville, New Brunswick; Aldergrove, Pitt Meadows and Langley, British Columbia; and Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Zenabis currently has 111,200 kg of licensed cannabis cultivation space across four licensed facilities. Zenabis has 3.5 million square feet of total facility space dedicated to a mix of cannabis production and cultivation and its propagation and floral business.
The Zenabis brand name is used in the cannabis medical market, the Namaste, Blazery, and Re-Up brand names are used in the cannabis adult-use recreational market.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information may include, among others, statements regarding the future plans, costs, objectives or performance of Zenabis, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In this news release, words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "estimate" and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: In anticipation of formal EU GMP certification, Zenabis has shipped this week approximately 50 kg of EU GMP approved dried cannabis to ZenPharm; The Re-Up 510-threaded vapourizer line will be launched in the Province of Alberta in December and has already been launched in Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick; It is this foundation on which we will continue to build and expand the Company. We continue to drive our strategic efforts behind focus, prioritization, and efficiencies in all aspects of our operations. Additionally, by entering into this agreement with Echelon we are confident that together we will be successful in obtaining new debt financing with which to repay our Senior Debentures. If successful, this project will enable the Company to significantly reduce its cost of capital and thus improve its cash flows; Zenabis Atholville remains in steady-state production from a cultivation standpoint, with harvest volumes for 2020 expected to achieve design capacity; Zenabis Stellarton is currently operating as the Company's centre of excellence for pre-roll packaging and distribution and will be the nexus of the Company's Cannabis 2.0 products, including edibles, products derived from trichome extraction and hashish products as these are launched into the marketplace; Recreational cannabis sales continue to grow as a result of the quality and price-competitiveness of Zenabis' portfolio of products as well as the introduction of new products such as three new strains which will ship to key provincial markets commencing in December and January, in both flower and pre-roll formats; the Company is expecting record monthly sales into Alberta in the month of December and sales continue to trend upwards in all of the nine provinces and three territories where our products are listed; The implementation of COVID-19-related lock-downs and other restrictions in the Company's key markets during the fourth quarter of 2020; however, may temporarily interrupt this upwards sales trend and the Company is accordingly revising its consolidated net revenue guidance for Q4 2020 to $22 million to $27 million comprised of $16 million to $19 million for the Cannabis segment and $6 million to $8 million for the Propagation segment. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the quarter is now expected to be $3 million to $5 million; The Company is working to rapidly increase distillate production in order to meet the current level of consumer demand; Re-Up 510 Vapes have now been launched in British Columbia, Ontario and New Brunswick, with shipments to Alberta commencing in December; Listings are already in place in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Yukon and are expected to launch in these provinces and territories in the first quarter of 2021; Oil sprays will be relaunched in the province of Quebec in late December or early January; Shipments have paused temporarily due to new import regulations; however, the Company has recently completed most of these requirements and shipments are expected to resume in Q1, 2021; ZenPharm successfully completed its EU GMP audit and expects to receive formal EU GMP certification, as well as its Cannabis license from the Malta Medicines Authority, in early 2021. A shipment of 50 kg of dried flower to ZenPharm has been completed this month . Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur. Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or management's good-faith belief with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond Zenabis' control. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those described in the shelf prospectus dated April 9, 2019 as supplemented by a prospectus supplement dated September 18, 2020 and the annual information form dated March 30, 2020, copies of which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Furthermore, any forward-looking information with respect to available space for cannabis production is subject to the qualification that management of Zenabis may decide not to use all available space for cannabis production, and the assumptions that any construction or conversion would not be cost prohibitive, required permits will be obtained and the labour, materials and equipment necessary to complete such construction or conversion will be available. Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Zenabis does not intend, nor undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by applicable laws.
For more information, visit: https://www.zenabis.com.
SOURCE Zenabis Global Inc.
Media Relations, Email: [email protected], Phone: 1-855-936-2247; Investor Relations, E-mail: [email protected], Phone: 1-855-936-2247
Share this article