Aurora Cannabis - Q3 2023

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Greetings. Welcome to the Aurora Cannabis 3rd quarter and full fiscal 2023 conference call. As a reminder, fiscal 2023 is comprised of 3 quarters ending March 31, 2023. All participants will be in listen only mode, and a question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. This conference call is being recorded today, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Ananth Krishnan, Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy. Please go ahead.

Ananth Krishnan (CFO)

Thank you, Rob. We appreciate you all joining us this morning. With me today are Aurora's CEO, Miguel Martin, and CFO, Glen Ibbott. Prior to market open today, Aurora issued a news release announcing our fiscal 2023 3rd quarter and year-end financial results. This news release, accompanying financial statement, and MD&A will be available on our IR website and will also be available on SEDAR and EDGAR shortly after this call.

You'll be able to find a supplemental information deck on our IR website. Listeners are reminded that certain matters discussed on today's conference call could constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties related to our future financial or business performance. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

The risk factors that may affect actual results are detailed in our annual information form and other periodic filings and registration statements. These documents may similarly be accessed via SEDAR and EDGAR. Following the prepared remarks by Miguel and Glen, we will conduct a question and answer session with our covering analysts. We ask that you limit yourself to one question and then get back in the queue for follow-up. With that, I will turn the call over to Miguel. Please go ahead.

Miguel Martin (CEO)

Thank you, Ananth. Q3 marks the end of our abbreviated fiscal 2023. We're very pleased with our strategic and financial progress. First and foremost, our business transformation plan is working, as we've now generated positive Adjusted EBITDA for 2 consecutive quarters. Part of that plan included a commitment to rationalizing expenses.

We've done so over the last 3 fiscal years by approximately CAD 400 million. Today, we're announcing an additional CAD 40 million annualized savings that we believe can be achieved by March 31, 2024, the end of our fiscal 2024 year. This incremental reduction puts us squarely on the path to reach our next financial milestone, which is positive free cash flow. Glen will provide more context on this in his remarks.

Milestones aside, the cannabis industry is still full of challenges, we've not taken our eyes off what we view as Aurora's greatest opportunity: solidifying our position and focusing on resources on the global medical segment. We remain the number 1 Canadian LP. There is, and will continue to be, real and profitable growth opportunities in the global medical market for companies such as Aurora.

We have been able to sustain and grow our high-margin medical cannabis revenue over time, our diversified presence affords us some resilience to macroeconomic and regulatory risks. Our view is that the momentum for top-line expansion and profitability remains very strong. As we've said many times, Aurora's expertise in managing the complexity of multiple jurisdictions' regulatory frameworks, our unwavering commitment to science, breeding, and genetics, sets us apart in this industry.

These are the capabilities that will position us to win new business in medical, and for that matter, recreational markets as they open up. Our ability to invest and grow is supported by our strong balance sheet, which we've worked hard to improve over the last few years. We believe we're among a very small group of LPs and MSOs that have a robust balance sheet and net cash position.

This gives Aurora staying power and the necessary capital to be targeted and opportunistic in the midst of rapid industry rationalization. Let's now briefly touch on the quarter before Glen does a more complete financial review. Our international medical revenue represents a global portfolio of profitable markets, where we remain a leading cannabis provider.

As part of our commitment to bring high quality, consistent, and innovative cannabis products to these patients, we recently introduced two Canadian-grown, high-THC cultivars that are popular in Canada to German patients. These proven products give physicians even more options to prescribe patients individually tailored treatments.

While the German market for rec is exciting and something the industry is eagerly awaiting, any enhancements to the current medical industry will have a more immediate impact. In particular, the German government is currently working to deschedule cannabis in the first part of the legalization bill. With Aurora's leadership position in the German medical cannabis industry, we are well positioned to benefit from these proposed changes.

Staying on the topic of Germany, as one of only three companies with a medical domestic production license in that country, Aurora will have a significant advantage and role when the German adult use regulatory framework is developed. Turning to the Canadian medical market, our focus remains on serving insured patient groups, which represent some 82% of our Q3 Canadian medical cannabis net revenues, up 100 basis points from Q2 and up 500 basis points from Q3 last year.

Our industry-leading share remains at about 25%, roughly double that of our closest competitor. Looking forward, you may have read that we launched a new program for Canadian patients that's designed to support and empower cannabis patients on their wellness journey.

Alongside the advice of a healthcare professional, Aurora patients can use the award-winning Strainprint app by logging their symptoms and consumption habits to better understand which strains, THC, CBD levels, and doses best work for them. This is technology and innovation at work, all for the sake of better patient outcomes. Switching to Canadian adult rec.

Despite ongoing macro challenges that are impacting this industry, Aurora has been able to maintain our net revenue position compared to Q2, while also increasing our gross margins by 5%. When comparing to Q3 of last year, we are seeing net revenue increase by CAD 4.1 million. We've been able to do this by leveraging our science-driven cultivation advantages, while continuing to invest in product innovation and product availability. Let's discuss Bevo, one of the largest suppliers of propagated vegetables and ornamental plants in North America.

Q3 plant propagation revenue represented a significant increase from Q2 as we entered prime seasonality, as the segment delivers its highest revenues in the late winter and spring months as orders are fulfilled. We have also completed repurposing the 800,000 sq ft Aurora Sky facility for orchid and vegetable propagation.

We expect to see revenues generated from the Sky facility in the final quarter of calendar 2023. Once executed, Bevo's financial contribution could be significant. This rapid expansion serves to increase Bevo's production capability and extend its shipping range in Canada and the U.S. Now that we expect to see positive Adjusted EBITDA on an annual basis, we see our next financial milestone as maintaining a net cash position and generating positive free cash flow. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Glen for our financial review.

Glen Ibbott (CFO)

Thank you, Miguel. Good morning, everyone. I will walk through the Q3 P&L momentarily. First, let's review our balance sheet. Aurora already has one of the strongest balance sheets among Canadian LPs. As of Monday, June 12th, we have approximately CAD 230 million of cash and cash equivalents.

This should be more than sufficient to fund operations until we reach positive free cash flow, which we are working to achieve by the end of calendar year 2024. Miguel noted our plan to capture an additional CAD 40 million in annualized cash flow savings this fiscal year. We've already put into motion most of the actions to achieve these savings, including the closure of production at our facility in Denmark, further targeted reductions to external SG&A operations costs. A number of other initiatives and investments.

In Q3 2023, our operations used a net CAD 15.1 million, excluding changes in working capital. The CAD 15.1 million includes about CAD 2.1 million in non-recurring termination costs. Our rate of operating cash use for planning purposes is approximately CAD 13 million per quarter.

To be a bit more prescriptive, this fiscal year, we're working on taking out a minimum of CAD 5 million quarterly from operations as we eliminate less efficient operations and focus on supplying the globe from our very low cost, yet high quality production facilities. Removing a minimum of CAD 5 million quarterly through a number of defined and targeted efficiency and cost reduction initiatives in operations and in SG&A.

Combined, these will bring us down to low single digits, quarterly cash use and operations during this fiscal year, with nine months remaining for the end of calendar 2024 to achieve the remainder.

Of course, this is all before considering revenue growth. Compared to Q3, we'll also save approximately $2 million a quarter in interest as we pay off the remainder of our convertible debt, currently standing at about CAD 80 million.

We intend to pay that off by the end of this fiscal year. Quarterly capital expenditures were $3.6 million in Q3, on par with the previous quarter. For fiscal 2024, we've also folded in CapEx. That required to keep our facilities maintained and working efficiently. We expect to hold quarterly maintenance CapEx at an average of $2 million in fiscal 2024.

That will save over CAD 1 million a quarter compared to Q3. We're seeing the benefit of alignment of production and sales volumes, as significant excess inventory is an issue we seem to have put behind us. At the same time, we are realizing the benefit of our long-term commitment to science and quality cultivation, and that demand for our products globally is beginning to outpace supply.

We see upside opportunity, but are expanding capacity prudently and smartly. Revenue growth, as it arrives, is incremental on our path to positive cash flow and could accelerate the timing of reaching our goal. This road to positive free cash flow, while also preparing to realize incremental revenue opportunities, certainly distinguishes Aurora during a period of an intense and rapid industry change and rationalization.

Aurora is positioned with balance sheet strength and realistic growth prospects to thrive over the long term as the global cannabis market expands. The actions I just outlined are the starting point on our journey to reach positive free cash flow by the end of calendar 2024. To make sure that we can be opportunistic during this period of industry rationalization, we will exclude any growth CapEx from our free cash flow target.

That is discretionary, but that we might deploy to increase shareholder value even further. We currently have approximately CAD 80 million remaining on our convertible notes due in 2024. Subsequent to our year-end of March 31st, we repurchased about $50.9 million US in aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes for total cash consideration of approximately $46 million US.

We issued 6.4 million common shares in settlement of a further $4 million of principal on this debt. We will settle the remaining convertible debenture balance by maturity next year. We do not intend to refinance the notes. I should remind you that we continue to have access to approximately $241 million under our base shelf prospectus.

During Q3, we issued 4.7 million shares for net proceeds of $3.6 million, and refiled a new shelf in March, as the previous one was expiring. Note that our intentions regarding further share issuances would only be for strategic purposes, and that includes debt repayment. Let's review the P&L in each of our businesses.

Q3 total net revenue grew 4% to CAD 64 million, as compared to CAD 61.7 million last quarter, and up 27% compared to the year-ago period. For the second consecutive quarter, we achieved a modest positive Adjusted EBITDA, which we attribute to both revenue growth and cost containment.

Overall, Aurora's Q3 adjusted gross margin before fair value adjustments was 48% versus 45% in Q2, which remains among the industry's best. Canadian medical revenue was CAD 24.2 million in Q3, down 6% from Q2. The business is steady, but the revenue trend was impacted due to the timing of shipments at the end of Q1, which resulted in higher Q2 sales.

Again, demonstrating the value of our diversified portfolio of global medical businesses as markets developed, international medical revenue is CAD 13.8 million, steady compared to last quarter, with continuing growth in our export business to Australia, offsetting a slight decline.

We have made the decision to close our Nordic production facility in Denmark and will supply our very important European business from our Canadian footprint, where we have much lower per unit costs, higher quality, and a much more reliable supply. We believe this change, in addition to reduced costs, will allow us to compete even more effectively in the growing European market, where we already have a substantial leadership position.

As usual, driven by our focus and leadership in global medical markets, medical cannabis represented about 71% of Q3 cannabis revenue and 86% of Aurora's adjusted cannabis gross profit.

Medical adjusted gross margin was 60%, down only slightly from 61% in the prior quarter, and within our target range of 60% above. We expect the supply of Europe from Canada will improve European medical margins over the next fiscal year. The stability and strength of our medical adjusted gross margins is an important gross profit driver that truly distinguishes Aurora from its major competitors.

Consumer cannabis net revenue was CAD 14.5 million, steady compared to last quarter, which we view favorably, as it demonstrates Aurora's agility in delivering compelling products, even with ongoing macro challenges in the consumer market. Adjusted gross margin before fair value adjustments on consumer cannabis net revenue is 25% in Q3, compared to 20% in the prior quarter.

In the plant propagation segment, our controlling stake in Bevo enabled us to recognize CAD 10.8 million in net revenue during Q3, up from CAD 6.6 million in Q2. As a reminder, Bevo has a seasonal cadence, with two-thirds of Bevo's annual revenue and Adjusted EBITDA being realized in the period from January to June.

On an annualized basis, Bevo's business is steady and predictable and supports our ability to generate positive Adjusted EBITDA and eventually positive free cash flow. Adjusted gross margin before fair value adjustments on plant propagations was 36% in Q3, compared to 15% in Q2.

This was expected as the seasonality of the vegetable and ornamental plant industry in the late winter and spring months yield higher margins relative to the rest of the year, as there's a high volume of production and orders being fulfilled in these months. Finally, adjusted SG&A was CAD 28.4 million.

Adjusted R&D just below CAD 2 million, reflecting our ongoing commitment to keeping SG&A well controlled. This was accomplished through the successful execution of our business transformation plan that included rationalizing our operations footprint and focusing on core business essentials.

A quick look ahead as we're closing in on the end of Q1 fiscal 2024. We expect cannabis net revenue for fiscal Q1 2024 to be largely similar to fiscal Q3 2023, with the geographic mix weighted slightly more heavily towards the international medical segment.

For plant propagation, we expect to see a seasonally strong quarter as we reach our peak selling period. Furthermore, adjusted gross margins are projected to be consistent with fiscal Q3 2023, and we also expect to maintain our stated objective of quarterly SG&A expense run rate below CAD 30 million.

To close and sum up, Aurora's financial metrics are healthy and strong, with a diversified global cannabis business delivering dependable revenue and leading gross profit, and supported by a well-controlled SG&A foundation. As we outlined, management is working diligently to even further strengthen both the balance sheet and the company's free cash flows. Thanks for your interest. I'll now turn the call back to Miguel.

Miguel Martin (CEO)

Thanks, Glen. Several years ago, we embarked on a journey to bring the company to sustainable, positive, Adjusted EBITDA. This has since been accomplished through our focus on the highest margin opportunity within cannabis, global medical, as well as a substantial reduction in costs that have resulted in significant operating efficiencies.

We have now set another ambitious target of removing a further $40 million of costs during this fiscal year to support our goal of being free cash flow positive by the end of calendar 2024. In the big picture, we believe our accomplishments to date, coupled with our near-term goals, becoming convertible, debt free and cash flow positive, truly sets us apart from our peers.

As industry rationalization takes hold, we think it is important for our investors to appreciate that we have the necessary capital, business plan, and by extension, the staying power to not only endure, but emerge stronger than these competitors as the global cannabis industry develops.

Our growth and profitability focus is on the high margin medical business that continues to expand globally, supported by innovation and development of quality products for a loyal patient base. We have, and will continue to, pull all levers at our disposal to create equity value for our shareholders, and that includes smartly allocating capital between organic growth, strategic M&A, and continuing to focus on all the details that build a world-class company. Thank you for your time and interest in Aurora. Operator, please open the lines for questions.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. We'll now be conducting the question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question today, please press star one on your telephone keypad and a confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you'd like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys.

That we may address questions from as many participants as possible, we ask you to please limit yourself to one question. If you have additional questions, you may re-queue. One moment please, while we poll for questions. Thank you. Thank you. Our first question is coming from the line of Michael Lavery with Piper Sandler. Please proceed with your questions.

Michael Lavery (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Thank you. Good morning.

Miguel Martin (CEO)

Morning, Michael.

Michael Lavery (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

I just wanted to ask a little bit of a portfolio strategy question with a thread of capital allocation in it. Basically, just, you mentioned strategic M&A at the end of your prepared remarks, and also talked about paying down the convert.

I guess maybe some of it is, you know, with the cash balance you have now, is there any reason to not pay that down sooner than later? Do you want to keep some dry powder? Is that part of your thinking? On the little bit more strategic side, how do you think about the portfolio evolution?

Are there things proactively on your radar? Obviously, you're focused on global medical, but obviously did the Bevo acquisition as well, so clearly open to some adjacencies. How do you think about maybe what the optimal portfolio looks like? Or if there's additions you're looking for, or what it would take to make something interesting to you?

Miguel Martin (CEO)

Great. Well, listen, good morning. We appreciate the question. I think first and foremost, as we think about the portfolio, we continue to focus on those areas in the cannabis business where you can make money. Right now, that's almost, you know, predominantly in the medical aspect, so Canada and in Western Europe.

We continue to make investments in those areas, which is definitely paying dividends. I mean, the margins are 2x what we see in rec. It's a much more consolidated piece of business. Importantly, in Europe, we're seeing, you know, sort of a normalization of what the regulations are. EU GMP product that is allowed to be imported from facilities like ours in Canada. While the regulations are really high, you get a lot of values and scale with those markets.

We're gonna continue to expand there. We've seen positive movement in Switzerland and Austria most recently, and obviously the strength that we have in places like Germany and Poland and Czech Republic and whatnot, make that, you know, an obvious piece of expansion.

On the product side, what we're seeing is incredible, you know, advancements in the genetic work that we're doing in our, you know, we think one of the, you know, strongest facilities in the world out at Vancouver Island, in bringing high quality genetics, high potency, incredible yields to the medical channel, but also to the rec channel. There are great efficiencies in that from a portfolio standpoint.

Beyond, you know, cannabis, as we see things that are an obvious adjacency, like Bevo, which was a wonderful acquisition and a great team, it allowed us to do a couple things. One is, you know, the consistency and sort of value of a, you know, great company like Bevo, but also utilize world-class facilities, like we mentioned with Sky, you know, to get value out of that.

We'll continue to look at that. In terms of the balance sheet and the debt, you know, as we've stated, you know, it is our goal to take out the rest of the converts before their maturity next year, which obviously has a, you know, pretty significant impact on interest savings.

The balance sheet is an important one, and we've worked really hard to be one of the few companies in a net cash position, and we, you know, look forward to being opportunistic. There are, you know, in this time of consolidation, we continue to see things that are of interest, but as you know, we've been really, really patient, and I think that's paid off in not chasing some of the higher valuations you saw a couple years ago. Importantly for us, not chasing on the U.S., which just wasn't, you know, a core setup, and I think right now poses a challenge, particularly for Canadian companies.

Operator (participant)

Our next question is from the line of Frederico Gomes with ATB Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.

Frederico Gomes (Director, Institutional Research, Life Sciences)

Hi, good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. Just on your consumer Canada segment, you know, we have seen a positive market share trend recently, or at least a stabilization and some gains according to some data providers. Can you talk a little bit about that segment? Is there any chance that you could, you know, accelerate market share gains there, you know, especially on edibles? We think we're seeing a good pickup there. You know, what is it that you're seeing in that market? You know, could that surprise for the upside? Thank you.

Miguel Martin (CEO)

Fred, thank you for the question. You know, as you recall, we made an acquisition just about a year ago with a company called Thrive, that had a wonderful portfolio of products, including a very, you know, super premium product line called Greybeard. That team, which is really why we went after that asset, was wonderfully adept at navigating the rec market.

The rec market is still, you know, presents a lot of challenges. We still see price compression. We still see the growth of value flower at pricing that doesn't make sense, but we do see spots where you can, you know, perform and make some money, concentrates, pre-rolls, and to your point, ingestibles, which we had some considerable success in.

you know, as we look at the landscape, you know, right now we have a little bit less than a 3 share, and it does not appear that, you know, if you had a larger share, you would have greater profitability. we're being very, I think, thoughtful in how we look at all of our opportunities in rec, and as opportunities present itself, you know, we're able to take advantage because of our low cost of production and innovation.

I think we're a little bit of a ways off, where there will be strong economics across all aspects of the rec portfolio, it's definitely getting better. we see some glimmers of hope, with provincial entities such as the OCS, putting in pricing floors, and we do see a little bit of the rationalization on pricing, particularly on flower.

That gives us some hope that in the future you could see more profit opportunities. With that, we'll definitely take advantage of it, 'cause with the genetics and science and innovation that we have implemented in our medical channel, that there's an easy crossover into rec.

Operator (participant)

Our next question is from the line of Pablo Zuanic with Zuanic & Associates. Please proceed with your question.

Pablo Zuanic (Managing Partner)

Good morning. Thanks. Look, regarding the German market, Miguel, it's a two-part question. What I'm hearing is that the sources of growth there, it's mostly coming from the online pharmacy business, right? The reimbursable business is pretty much flat to down, and even the cash business in brick-and-mortar is flattish, so it's online pharmacy driving growth, and that could be significant because we know that in terms of patients, that's under-penetrated, that market.

First of all, is that true? The second question is that the concern I have when I check all the websites of those online pharmacies, they have a significant number of SKUs, and they pride themselves in that variety they have there. If you're a LP, you know, shipping a few SKUs, maybe you're at a disadvantage. I mean, tell me about that. I know you talked about some new cultivars, but if you can, stress-test that assumption. Thank you.

Miguel Martin (CEO)

Well, thanks for the question, Pablo. I would say it's not just online pharmacies, what we're seeing is a growth in the overall prescriber base. Right now in Germany, it is a bit challenging because of the classification of cannabis as a narcotic for a traditional physician or clinician to prescribe cannabis, that is starting to expand.

One of the things that's been lost in all of the noise about what's happening with the German rec business, has been the stated, you know, position of the German government to reduce bureaucracy and to open up the medical cannabis business. Right now in Germany, it's about 0.1% of the adult population is in the cannabis system, where I'd say in Canada it's 1%. We are seeing some expansion outside of the online pharmacies.

You know, you mentioned the point about, you know, their catalog and how many brands are in there. A couple things on that. First and foremost, one of the great challenges in the German market is the incredible rigor that they have with the testing to have products be acceptable in the market.

It has to be in roughly around 10% of the stated potency in their lab. Product quality and availability that meets that spec is one of the key competitive drivers in Germany, as opposed to, say, the distribution system that you're referencing. The second thing, in Germany, what we're seeing is an interest in more premium quality, and higher potency medications, and so therefore, you know, we've introduced 2 proven, cultivars from Canada into Germany, and the early read is that they're well-received.

The last thing is we saw a lot of investment as people were getting, you know, excited about a possible rec solution, and now with that being a bit off, we're gonna see consolidation. Unlike the rec business in Canada, where the top 10 LPs only do 30% of the business, the top five LPs in the medical business in, you know, in Germany, might do 2/3 of the overall business.

There are efficiencies there for the LPs that can navigate that high bar and that, you know, can consistently connect with patients. That will, you know, be a benefit both in the online system as well as the brick-and-mortar.

Lastly, we do think that with the progression of some of the regs, traditional brick-and-mortar through a pharmacy is gonna be much more the prevailing application as opposed to today's, you know, execution that's, you know, somewhat skewed.

Operator (participant)

Our next question comes from the line of Vivien Azer with TD Cowen. Please proceed with your question.

Robin Holby (VP, Equity Research)

Morning, this is Robert Heubien for Vivien Azer. Thank you for taking the question. Given the pivot away from the Nordic facility, can you dimensionalize any near-term gross margin headwind you might expect from moving supply for Europe back to Canada? You mentioned this should increase gross margins over time. Could you explain what gives you conviction in the ability to increase gross margins above the 60% gross margin target over time? Thank you.

Miguel Martin (CEO)

Sure. Thanks for the question. One of the challenges with that facility, you know, there was probably three primary challenges. The first is the regulations on what would be traditional remediation of pathogens, whether that's powdery mildew or other things in that facility, made it a bit difficult to achieve the same yield and production that we get out of Canada.

That's one. Secondly, the size of that greenhouse facility did not really lend itself to the same sort of production efficiencies that we get out of our traditional indoor facilities that we have in Canada. Third, because there is no difference in terms of the, you know, ability to ship that product into that market.

When you're able to utilize the scale and the sophistication, and to be honest, the experience that we have with the Canadian facility into that, you know, into that European market, it's a benefit. The other thing I'll mention is that we started in the European markets with Canadian flower particularly, and in the German market and some other European markets, they value, for whatever reason, the Canadian product as having a higher quality and being more, you know, sort of valuable to them. It is a margin increase for us, but also the predictability, because of our knowledge and experience with those indoor facilities in Ontario, is so much higher that, you know, it's just an overall better system, which is why we think we can grow margins. In terms of the overall margin profile, we don't see any added costs.

Because the economics run through the wholesale list price for the overall system, you're not seeing the same, you know, pricing compression that you would see, say, in the rec market in Canada. As we get greater efficiencies in our production, as well as, you know, in other aspects of the distribution and sales and marketing in those markets, we do see the opportunity, you know, to have an accretive margin situation. We're excited about that.

Operator (participant)

Our next question is from the line of Tamy Chen with BMO Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.

Tamy Chen (Consumer Analyst)

Hi, good morning. Thanks for the question. I wanted to step back a bit and talk about your cost structure, and I suspect you may also, as a result, touch on the new cost savings plan that you mentioned.

I just wanted to understand, if I look at your business now, the majority is in the medical side, Canada as well as international, though Canada is the bigger part. With respect to the consumer or recreational segment, over the last several while, you've really narrowed down that business and your focus to be profitable. I'm just wondering, at this point now, when I look at your quarterly SG&A on an adjusted basis, it's about, as you said, around CAD 30 million a quarter.

That's still CAD 120 million a year of adjusted SG&A, which is a decent amount versus your total revenue figure. I'm just wondering, at this point now, what why is it still so significant? What are the biggest cost components there that you feel can still be worked down going forward? Thanks.

Miguel Martin (CEO)

You got it. Let me, I'll make a couple comments and I'll turn it over to Glen. First and foremost is you well know, Tamy, and we appreciate the question. You know, we took about $400 million out over the, you know, past few years, and we've announced another 40. The $30 million you're describing in SG&A, there's still complexity and general cost to the cannabis system that looks a little different than, say, what I'm used to from a CPG standpoint.

You know, the production, the medical, the regulations, the shipping, all of that, you know, is complex and therefore creates cost. It's something we look at a lot, and I think, you know, people should have great confidence that when we say we're gonna get to this 40 within the time period, we're gonna get there.

That doesn't mean we're going to stop there as we see other opportunities. In terms of rec, you know, about CAD 14 million or CAD 15 million, you know, a quarter in revenue there, and we've made significant improvements in terms of the cost profile of that.

As you mentioned, the vast majority, you know, of our focus and where we think the real upside is on the medical business, which scale does benefit you there, which will help with sort of the scaling of the SG&A versus future growth, because we can produce out of those common facilities in Canada and ship around the world. Glen, maybe I can turn it over to you, and you can talk a little specifically about the cost structure for Tamy.

Glen Ibbott (CFO)

Yeah, thanks, Miguel. I think you covered it quite well. Tamy, you know, we're in four different businesses, all cannabis related, plus Bevo. You know, supporting global medical, you know, in Europe, and it's becoming quite a, quite a nice business in Australia. Canadian medical, Canadian rec, and Bevo. It's complex.

We've got a maybe heavier than you might expect, sort of legal, regulatory, QA sort of framework, and certainly shipping, which we run through our SG&A. Shipping, you know, to the provinces, to Europe, to Australia, et cetera, et cetera, runs through our SG&A. You know, this is about serving the globe. We think we've built a good platform.

We will continue to sweep costs out, just, you know, it's a kind of, I'd say, normal course of business to continue to look for efficiencies every year. On top of that, we do have public company costs. We are looking, and we have defined plans that are already in progress to reduce the cost by about CAD 5 million a quarter.

Just realizing that we've got a platform that's quite capable of scale. As we add incremental revenue through some of the opportunities that are right in front of us, we don't need to scale up SG&A. We believe we can continue to support it at this level and add top line revenue and start to see those metrics looking a little bit more like you might expect. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

Our next question is from the line of John Zamparo with CIBC. Please proceed with your question.

John Zamparo (Equity Research Analyst)

Thank you very much. I wanted to ask about the consumer segment, and in particular on edibles. You've gained considerable share in that category according to Hifyre data. I wonder if you can frame how much of that has come from Glitches or any other brands that offer chewable extracts, and what's your view on how that matter plays out with regulators?

Miguel Martin (CEO)

John, thanks for the question. You look at the quarter, obviously, you know, the decision by Health Canada on Glitches, you know, it was, you know, considerable. It probably was CAD 2 million of revenue in the quarter associated with Glitches.

I think, you know, it's an interesting, you know, piece. We were really excited about the innovation on Glitches and navigating that. We obviously made our submission to Health Canada six months before we launched it. Health Canada had a concern or questions, I guess, say, on ours and other products. I know that's an industry fight. We're gonna be, you know, talking to Health Canada about that 10 mg limit. On Glitches, I'm not gonna...

I'm not saying it's going to be the same amount of volume, but the prohibition was having more than 10 milligrams in one package, so we're going to continue to have Glitches in the market going forward, but it'll just be one unit at 10 milligrams as opposed to the 10 by 10 that we had out there.

This has been raised, I think, by a variety of different entities in Canada, the Competition Bureau, and a variety of other industry entities, that this is a real sort of gap for the, you know, legal, regulatory for licensed producers versus the illicit market, where you see what I would describe as an irresponsible representation of edibles at high potencies, youthful presentations. So I think over time, this is one that's going to resolve itself.

For us, you know, I think this is an example of our ability to pivot. Within six months, we identified that opportunity, we were able to launch it, and did seven figures in sales in a quarter. That's not the last innovative item we're gonna have. We're launching infused pre-rolls.

We're launching other, you know, minor cannabinoid gummies, which have done really well, as well as innovations that we've seen in flower and other core aspects that have done well. In this market, you've got to be, you know, very agile, as Glen mentioned in his comments. We've done that, I think, you know, what we've done, you know, really well, that I'm really proud of, is we take what's there, and we don't chase what I would call unprofitable market share.

We're still not in a place in the rec business where having a 10-plus share is gonna, you know, guarantee that you're gonna have greater profitability. As I mentioned before, we're about a 3 share. We're finding the spots that we think are sustainable and profitable, and we are seeing some positive movements, the OCS price floors, some other provinces, you know, decisions on flower, we'll get there. As we look forward in the future quarters, we'll see things like Glitches that we're excited about. I do think, as I mentioned before, that the 10 milligram cap will be addressed at some point.

Operator (participant)

The next question is from the line of Yewon Kang with Canaccord Genuity. Please proceed with your question.

Yewon Kang (Research Analyst)

Hi, good morning. This is Yewon Kong from Canaccord Genuity. Thanks for the question. Just wanted to touch on the adjusted gross margins for the quarter. Under the wholesale bulk cannabis business, as well as the Bevo business, adjusted gross margins for these segments ticked up this quarter pretty significantly. I guess, could you speak to any of the drivers that caused the sequential growth in these margins? Thanks.

Miguel Martin (CEO)

Of course. Glen, you want to take that one?

Glen Ibbott (CFO)

Yeah, absolutely. So in the plant propagation business, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, it's seasonal. What's really happening in the first, you know, half of this fiscal year, but you saw in our reported Q3 and you'll see it again in our reported Q1, is that's just a fully, you know, fully utilized, stuffed to the rafters facility that's really cranking out a ton of plants and therefore revenue.

You're getting a completely utilized cost structure in that in those two quarters. That's why the margins are higher. Through the remainder of the year, we'd expect them to be a little bit lower, you know, more similar to what we saw in our Q2. You know, the...

I guess the, one of the beauties, I think, of what Bevo is doing with the Sky facility is, the orchid business that's being launched at Sky is a little less seasonal. We start to smooth some of those bumps out in our plant propagation margins. Beyond that, the bulk sale cannabis is we just, as I said, have a lot less excess cannabis.

We're finding spots to sell some of our higher potency volume. We're seeing some nice margins in some of the core bulk sales. That's not a segment that we're leaning on or depending on, we don't talk about it much. That's really just seen as an outlet after we've got 4 different channels that are all kind of fighting for cannabis right now. If there's a little bit left at the end, we'll sell it through the bulk sale process. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. At this time, we've reached the end of the question and answer session, and I'll turn the call over to Miguel Martin for closing remarks.

Miguel Martin (CEO)

Well, listen, we are thrilled with this quarter and more importantly, thrilled about where the company is going. We appreciate everybody's interest in this, and we look forward to sharing the story as we go forward. On behalf of everyone at Aurora, thank you for your interest, and take it from there. All the best. Thanks.

Operator (participant)

This will conclude today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines at this time.