Multinational cannabis operator, Clever Leaves Holdings Inc. CLVR posted its first-quarter financial report on Monday with revenue of $3.5 million, up by 19% from $2.9 million in the same period of the previous year.

Key Earnings Figures

Clever Leaves noted that its sequential revenue growth can be primarily attributed to significant growth in cannabinoids revenue.

The New York-based company also posted a net loss of $13.8 million for the period. Removing $4.9 million on remeasurement of warrant liability net loss amounted to $8.9 million, compared to $10.2 million in the corresponding quarter of 2020.

A lower net loss can be attributed mostly to lower operating expenses, which fell to $10.0 million, compared to $11.3 million in the first quarter of 2020. Lower costs were achieved by applying cost control initiatives created in 2020, lower advertising and selling expenditures.

In the first quarter, Clever Leaves also had an adjusted EBITDA loss of $5.4 million, which compares to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $6.7 million.

Its gross profit improved 3% to $2.2 million.

At the end of the quarter, the company had $69.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $79.5 million at the end of the prior quarter.

2021 Guidance

Clever Leaves confirmed it “is on track” to reach its 2021 goals, repeating its previously announced full 2021 guidance of $17 to $20 million in revenue, gross margin of around $61% and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $24 to $26 million.

“The first quarter reflected continued progress towards our growth objectives that we believe will drive the next stage of our journey to become an industry-leading MNO,” Kyle Detwiler, CEO of Clever Leaves stated. “We continued to generate strong year-over-year revenue growth driven by increased cannabinoid shipments and improvements across key operating metrics, including adjusted EBITDA."

Detwiler further noted the company’s partnerships with large pharmaceutical businesses like Ethypharm in Germany and having achieved a “record-level export quota from Colombia, representing approximately 18% of the world's allocation. This strengthens our confidence in the future as we continue to prove the export process with initial shipments into our target markets globally.”

Detwiler concluded on an optimistic note.

“We have also continued to expand our distribution footprint in Latin America, and we will continue to nurture these significant relationships in the coming months.” 

Price Action

Clever Leaves’ shares were trading 1.40% higher at $8.67 at the time of writing.

Photo by Diyahna Lewis on Unsplash