Dear Shareholders, Let me begin by wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year. As we have recently seen considerable change in the world around us, I wanted to take this opportunity to share our outlook on the year ahead and provide key updates on Radiko developments. Coming off the heels from a year of impressive growth for the legal cannabis industry, and heading into a very promising 2021, there is no question that we are at an unprecedented inflection point in the maturation of the cannabis market. Amidst a pandemic we have seen swift responses to the regulatory measures and a surge in consumer demand. There is unforeseen support for cannabis both globally and nationally -- including The World Health Organization recommending cannabis for medical use and research, more than 40 U.S. states legalized recreational and/or medical marijuana by the end of 2020, and most state governments around the U.S. now deem medical marijuana companies as "essential". Market growth has exceeded expectations and the sector is projected to double in the next four years. According to a recent report from New Frontier Data, "Total 2020 U.S. legal cannabis sales are expected to exceed $20 billion, with post-election expansion and existing state markets to combine for a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21%, and reach $41.5 billion by 2025. Annual U.S. sales of legalized medical cannabis are projected to reach $16.3 billion by 2025, and regulated adult-use sales meanwhile projected to top $25.1 billion." Cannabis stocks have been rallying since last November after Biden won the presidential race and several states legalized marijuana for recreational and/or medical use. Last week we witnessed more unforeseen historic milestones as Democrats won the Senate, reshaping the balance of power in Washington. The market has increased hopes for legalization at the federal level and the ability to move legislative measures through Congress including the SAFE Banking and MORE Acts, which will only help to ease some challenging business issues facing the industry. As such, cannabis stocks across the board soared, with industry leaders including Tilray, Cronos, Aurora and Canopy Growth's share price jumping up nearly 40% in the week. And in this week we've seen Tilray's stock leap again, from under $12 to almost $22! We believe the best days are ahead of us and Radiko is strategically poised for growth with this surge in momentum. Radiko's corporate development has and continues to be focused on building and marketing a diversified portfolio of brands, with strategic manufacturing and distribution partnerships to support better EBITDA and margins. There continues to be significant public interest in cannabinoids and we believe our CBD business is expected to have notable expansion opportunities when the FDA gets through their science based process. On the THC side we continue to build the value of our assets from cultivation to final packaged product. Be on the lookout for announcements from us of new partnerships and brands over the next two quarters. I would be remiss if I didn't share about the remarkable progress Jeff Malinovitz and team have made with the Carson City facility. We are now weeks away from our first harvest with the new premium genetics. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful new crop. |