Aurora reported a net loss of $1.3B for Q2, on the heels of last week’s news it had laid off 15% of its workforce, taken $1B in writedowns, and accepted the resignation of founder/CEO Terry Booth.
NewsWire, MJ Biz Daily, BNN Bloomberg, Financial Post
- Revenue fell 25% quarter-over-quarter, from Q1’s $75.6M to the past quarter’s $56.6M.
The Star - Wholesale revenues declined 77% to $2.4M, while EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] loss doubled from $39.7M to $80.2M, quarter over quarter.
Aurora‘s interim CEO Michael Singer told BNN Bloomberg, “I would never say we made mistakes. The decisions we made in the past made sense at that time, but the market has changed. ”
BNN Bloomberg
- Singer said there were no plans for any more layoffs, and any capital the company spends needs to show value.
Aurora’s products are expensive at a time when consumers want cheaper REC.
MarketWatch
Terry Booth explained his departure by saying, “It’s time for more of a button-up CEO, not a growth CEO. […] You really need to have someone with their eye on the ball for positive EBITDA.”
BNN Bloomberg
- MJ Biz Daily‘s Matt Lamers said, “It doesn’t seem they were all that fussed about EBITDA and revenue, at least compared to the weight of the other [key performance indicators].”
Twitter—Matt Lamers - Lamers also puzzled over why the company’s 2019 Corporate Objectives state they “exceeded” their production target of 100,000 kg, “But Aurora’s annual statement says it only produced 57,442 kg.”
Twitter—Matt Lamers
As part of his compensation deal, Booth is entitled to two years’ worth of his base salary of $525,000 plus cash bonus, etc.
Twitter—Michael Miller
- Aurora is rumoured to have not told some employees they were being laid off until this past Monday.
Yahoo—Jeff Lagerquist
CEOs from the consumer packaged goods sector are interested in taking over Singer’s position, regardless of Aurora’s last year of struggle.
Bloomberg
