Bad news for ACB, Good news for FIRE...
Desjardins Securities analyst John Chu has increasing concerns about the ability of Aurora Cannabis Inc.’s (ACB-T) Aurora Sky facility to produce the premium flower expected from management.
Though he thinks the Edmonton-based company’s revised covenant provides additional flexibility and its decision to cut capacity and costs “should help keep the company on its path to positive EBITDA (albeit later than expected),” he thinks the output at its flagship facility is “the biggest unknown and risk factor.”
“The company has been testing Sky’s ability to grow premium cultivars throughout 2020 and management did tell us that the facility is still undergoing testing and trials to determine its capabilities,” said Mr. Chu. “Our concern is that premium flower is generally grown in a smaller footprint (less than 250,000 square feet or a maximum of 25,000 kilograms per year of capacity) and usually in an indoor setting vs a greenhouse; however, we are aware of premium flower being grown in greenhouse settings but under a smaller footprint (eg Rubicon with 11,000 kilograms per year of capacity).”