International Sales Drive HEXO Q4 Revenue 71% Higher to $38.7 Million With Substantial Loss

HEXO Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results Highlighting Strong Growth

• Total net sales growth of 71% quarter-over-quarter and 43% from Q4’20, marking HEXO’s best quarter of sales to date.
• Total Q4’21 net revenue increased to $38.7 million from $22.6 million in Q3’21
• Total net revenue for FY21 grew 53% to $123.5 million from $80.6 million in FY20.
• Maintained leading market share position relative to peers as market continues to diversify.
• Completed the acquisition of Zenabis Global Inc. (“Zenabis”)

OTTAWA, Oct. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HEXO Corp. (TSX: HEXO; NASDAQ: HEXO) (“HEXO” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter (“Q4’21”) and fiscal year ended July 31, 2021 (“F’21”). All amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

I am honoured and humbled to join the team as HEXO’s President & CEO. I look forward to continuing to build on HEXO’s strong foundation with an immediate priority of continuing to integrate our recent acquisitions and reviewing our financial position, with the ultimate goal of driving growth and profitability through the commercialization of cannabis consumer packaged goods products.

Scott Cooper

As we review our last fiscal year, I would like to highlight some key achievements. Last fiscal, HEXO achieved its highest net revenue in the Company’s history, leads the Canadian cannabis market in four categories and completed three acquisitions, including the transformative Redecan acquisition, propelling the Company to the number one market share position in Canadian adult-use recreational cannabis sales.

Business Update
M&A
Key Highlights to July 31, 2021

• Closed the Zenabis acquisition on June 1, 2021, offering diversified cultivation facilities, including a state-of-the-art indoor grow facility in Atholville, NB.
• Zenabis contributed $6.8 million in net revenue for the two months ended July 31, 2021.

Subsequent Events

• The Company completed the acquisitions of Redecan and 48North Cannabis Corp. (“48North”). Through the integration progress, HEXO is focused on ensuring that it implements the strengths of each acquired company across the organization, identifies and resolves any weaknesses, and obtains synergistic value for the overall organization.
• HEXO believes these acquisitions will increase its market share, accelerate its path to profitability, and create accretive synergies.

Operations
Key Highlights to July 31, 2021

• Committed to ESG leadership, by offsetting 100% of its 2020 operational carbon emissions and personal emissions for all employees¹.  The Company also committed to offsetting the plastic used in its pouch packaging.

Subsequent Events

• The Company undertook a strategic reorganization, announcing the departure of its Co-Founder and CEO, Sebastien St-Louis and the appointment of Scott Cooper as HEXO’s new President & CEO.
• Scott joins HEXO from Truss Beverage Co., a joint venture between Molson-Coors Canada and HEXO which holds the number one market share in cannabis infused beverages in Canada, where he held the position of President & CEO. For a period of not more than six months, Scott will simultaneously remain in this role.
• HEXO also announced the appointment of Valerie Malone as Chief Commercial Officer and Guillaume Jouet as Chief People & Culture Officer. Both executives bring significant consumer-packaged good experience to the organization.

Canadian cannabis market
Key Highlights to July 31, 2021

• Net revenue increased 71% quarter-over-quarter and 43% from Q4’20, marking HEXO’s highest quarter of revenue to date.
• Total Q4’21 net revenue increased to $38.7 million from $22.6 million in Q3’21
• Total net revenue for FY21 grew to $123.5 million from $80.6 million in FY20.
• Increased market share in several Canadian provinces, including Ontario, Alberta and British Colombia, and maintained a top two market share in Quebec.
• Adult-use net revenues, exclusive of beverages, increased 28% quarter-over-quarter.
• Cannabis beverage net revenues increased 70% quarter-over-quarter and 161% from fiscal 2020.

Maintained leading market position relative to peers as market share continues to diversify.

HEXO USA
Key Highlights to July 31, 2021

• On June 28, 2021, HEXO announced the closing of the acquisition of a 50,000 sq. ft. facility in Colorado providing the Company with the necessary infrastructure to execute on its U.S. expansion plans. The facility is zoned for producing a full range of cannabis products and offers a variety of operational capabilities.

Subsequent Events

• Truss CBD USA announced the expansion of Veryvell, a line of hemp-derived CBD and adaptogen beverages, to 17 states following a successful Colorado launch in 2020. Truss CBD USA is a joint venture by Molson Coors Beverage Company and HEXO USA Inc, a subsidiary of HEXO poised to capture the US cannabis infused beverage market.

Financial Update

Operating Expenses

Other Matters
Gross margins

Quarter-over-quarter, the Company’s total gross margin declined to 20% from 22% in Q3’21. Net adult-use revenue (exclusive of beverages) gross margin declined to 12% from 28% due to; increases to sales in higher excise tax burdened markets, decreases to average selling prices, and the crystallization of fair value adjustments upon the business acquisition of Zenabis.

Normalizing for the impact of the crystallization, the Company’s total gross margin would improve to 26% in Q4’21. Strong margined international sales grew significantly in period to net revenues of $6.8 million and a gross margin contribution of 65%. Wholesales were also impacted by the crystallization of fair value adjustments on the purchase price accounting of Zenabis, normalized for this, margins would otherwise have been 35% versus reported gross margin of (65%).

Going Concern & the Senior Secured Convertible Note

The Company acknowledges the ongoing concern with its senior secured convertible notes issued on May 27, 2021. The Company has maintained a positive relationship with the holder, with the holder having negotiated and agreed to two amendments favorable to the Company.  While there exists a risk that significant cash outflows may be required over the next twelve months under the terms of the Senior Secured Convertible Note, the Company has been working with the Holder to renegotiate the terms of the Senior Secured Convertible Note.

The Company has sufficient funding for ongoing working capital requirements, however, current funds on hand, combined with operational cash flows, are not sufficient to also support funding potential cash requirements under the Senior Secured Convertible Note, investments required to continue to develop cultivation and distribution infrastructure, and the future growth plans of the Company. Management is exploring several options to secure the necessary financing, which could include the issuance of new public or private equity or debt instruments, supplemented with operating cash inflows from operations.

Nevertheless, there is risk that certain sources of additional future funding will not be available to the Company or will be available on terms which are acceptable to management. In the meantime, Management continues to monitor and manage its cash flow in relation to its strategic growth objectives and working capital requirements.

Non-IFRS Measures

In this press release, reference is made to gross profit before adjustment, profit/margin before fair value adjustments, adjusted gross profit/margin, adjusted EBITDA, and revenue per gram equivalent which are not measures of financial performance under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). These metrics and measures are not recognized measures under IFRS, do not have meanings prescribed under IFRS, and are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. These measures are provided as information complementary to those IFRS measures by providing a further understanding of our operating results from the perspective of management. As such, these measures should not be considered in isolation or in lieu of a review of our financial information reported under IFRS. Definitions and reconciliations for all terms above can be found in the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2021, filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov respectively

Conference Call

The Company will hold a conference call, October 29, 2021 to discuss these results. Scott Cooper, President & CEO, and Trent MacDonald, CFO, will host the call starting at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Analysts’ question and answer period will follow management’s presentation.

Date: October 29, 2021
Time: 8:30 a.m. ET
Webcast: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/987736433

For previous quarterly results and recent press releases, see hexocorp.com.

About HEXO Corp

HEXO is an award-winning licensed producer of innovative products for the global cannabis market. HEXO serves the Canadian recreational market with a brand portfolio including HEXO, Redecan, UP Cannabis, Namaste Original Stash, 48North, Trail Mix, Bake Sale, REUP and Latitude brands, and the medical market in Canada, Israel and Malta. The Company also serves the Colorado market through its Powered by HEXO® strategy and Truss CBD USA, a joint venture with Molson-Coors. With the completion of HEXO’s recent acquisitions of Redecan and 48North, HEXO is a leading cannabis products company in Canada by recreational market share. For more information, please visit www.HEXOcorp.com.

_{¹ Estimated personal emissions based on the average Canadian’s emissions from heating and powering their homes, driving and food consumption.}

Original Press Release

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