Shares of British Columbia-based Tilray jumped after the bell Monday after it reported that its cannabis sales more than doubled over the last year.
The company said fourth-quarter revenues of $15.5 million buoyed 2018 sales to $43.1 million, up 110 percent compared to last year. The surge was driven by bulk sales, the first months of the legal adult-use market in Canada and accelerated wholesale exports, according to its latest financial update. Analysts had expected fourth-quarter sales of $14.1 million.
"Our team made significant progress on our long-term initiatives including increasing production capacity, expanding and strengthening strategic partnerships, and acquiring complementary businesses to accelerate our future growth and leadership position in medical and adult-use cannabis," Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy said of the company's financial report.
Net loss for the quarter was $31.0 million or 33 cents per share compared to $3.0 million or 4 cents per share for the prior year period. The company also said that the number of kilograms of cannabis and derivative products increased nearly three-fold to 2,053 from 694 kilograms compared to the fourth quarter of 2017.
Kilograms sold in 2018 increase over two-fold to 6,478 from 3,024 in the prior year. Tilray stock rallied 2.5 percent in after-hours trading following the report.
The most recent quarter was busy for Tilray, which expanded strategic partnerships with a number of global partners.
First, it expanded its alliance with Sandoz, a division of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, in an effort to increase access to medical cannabis to patients around the world. Tilray said it plans to work with Novartis' generic drug business and supply non-smokable and non-combustible medical cannabis products where legal.
The Canadian company also disclosed a research and development partnership with Budweiser-parent AB InBev focused on non-alcohol THC and CBD beverages. Each company intends to invest up to $50 million, for a total of up to $100 million, Tilray said.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
