In the world of cannabis stocks, the big boys are not the only players in the sector who are getting noticed. A case in point is Medipharm Labs Corp (V:LABS).
This company based in Barrie, Ont., which has been until now flying under the radar in many respects, specializes in what it terms research-driven extraction, distillation, purification and cannabinoid isolation. Yesterday, it unveiled its fourth-quarter results – and the numbers registered a blimp on the screen that got some attention. It’s revenues for the period ending Dec. 31, 2018, totalled $10.2 million.
But what is most significant is that these revenue figures were achieved from mid-November to the end of December, as the company only received its sales licence from Health Canada on Nov. 12. The month prior, it completed financing of more than $25 million and began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange’s Venture exchange on Oct. 4, 2018. Later in the year, it was named the Cannabis Start Up of the Year for 2018 at the Canadian Cannabis Awards by Lift & Co.
“2018 was a breakthrough year for MediPharm Labs,” said company CEO Patrick McCutcheon in a statement released Wednesday. “We became the first fully licensed producer to specialize solely in extraction and quickly scaled operations to emerge as the dominant market leader in the manufacturing of high quality pharmaceutical-like production of cannabis derivative products – the future of cannabis.”
And that last part of McCutcheon’s comment is key: “Cannabis derivative products – the future of cannabis.” It is the part of the cannabis trade that is aimed at the beverage, food, wellness and pharmaceutical markets. And it is the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ many large U.S. companies are lining up to partner with Canadian producers in order to position themselves in this sector.
In other highlights from the company’s Q4 report, MediPharm Labs’ recorded a net loss of $3.5 million for the quarter and $8.5 million for the year.
MediPharm Labs shares opened yesterday at $3.83 and closed at $3.62. It has a market cap of $381.36 million. Shares have gained 248 percent in the last year.
Among MediPharm Labs notable highlights from 2018 was the start of construction of MediPharm Labs Australia’s cannabis extraction facility, which is licensed, and expected to go into production in the latter half of this year. This facility will serve as a hub for the Asia-Pacific regions.
Also this year, the company has secured more than $85 million in label sales agreements that cover a 15-month period beginning December 2018, and a $35-million private label cannabis oil sale that stretches over a 13-month period.
The company also plans to secure European Union certification at its Ontario plant in order to export to EU countries.