Shares of CannTrust Holdings were down in early trading this morning both in Canada and the U.S. after reporting weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results before the opening bell.
The stock (NYSE:CTST) dropped more than 15 percent on the New York Stock Exchange exchange within minutes of the open, trading at US$8.47. In Canada, the stock (TO:TRST) was down more than 11 percent at C$11.90 in early trading.
The Canadian cannabis company reported $16.2 million in revenue for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2018, which represents a 132-percent increase over the same period the previous year.
The company attributed the jump in revenue to an increase in sales to its medical patient base, which also saw an increase in size; and sales in the recreational sector since the weed was legalized in Canada last fall.
But that was not enough to meet analysts’ expectations, which were seeking the company would show a loss of 4 cents on revenues of $21 million. In contrast, the company reported a loss of 26 cents per share on $16.2 million, which translates into a per-gram revenue of $7.10 – down from $8.14 from the same period a year earlier.
Among the quarter’s highlights, the Ontario-based company graduated to the TSX Composite listing and began trading in the U.S. In addition, CannTrust obtained all permits to continue to expand its indoor growing facilities and secured 200 acres of land to expand with an outdoor growing operation.
The company operates a 430,000-square-foot greenhouse in the Niagara region, one of the largest in North America. It was designed using perpetual growing technology.