(This story has been updated to include comments from Tilray executives on the results.)
Canadian cannabis cultivation giant Tilray plans to focus on Europe and the U.S. for its upcoming expansion plans.
“The field of battle has changed, and the U.S. and Europe will become much more important,” CEO Brendan Kennedy said in a conference call Monday after the company released its fourth quarter and full year 2018 results.
Countries such as Poland, France and Ireland represent nascent opportunities for medical marijuana, along with more mature markets in the European Union such as Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Germany – where Kennedy said he expects 100,000 patients by the end of the year compared with just 800 at the end of 2015.
Tilray reported revenue for the fourth quarter 2018 of $15.5 million, with about 30% of that coming from recreational sales in Canada.
Fourth-quarter results largely beat analysts’ forecasts of $15 million in sales.
Net loss of $31 million for the period was wider than the $6 million analysts projected, as operating expenses increased.
Exports of Canadian cannabis will increasingly wind down as the company ramps up cultivation elsewhere.
“There have been supply constraints across Canada, but there will likely be oversupply in the next 18 months,” Tilray CFO Mark Castaneda said.
The company’s production facility in Portugal – where Kennedy expects “multiple harvests in coming months” – will be able to supply the European market with the first sales in the summer of 2019.
Tilray trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TLRY.
