John SchroyerArizona-based 4Front Ventures Corp. (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQB: FFNTF) this week posted another multimillion dollar quarterly loss, this time $6.4 million, which brings they company’s net loss for the year to $29.7 million.
On the bright side, that loss is a fraction of what it was a year ago, when 4Front reported $62 million lost in the third quarter alone and $84.5 million for the first nine months of 2023.
Revenue, however, was also down year-over-year, falling to $15.2 million in the quarter from $20.1 million. For the first nine months of 2024, the company pulled in $49 million, down from $67.7 million from last year. Third-quarter revenue was also down from the $18.7 million reported for the second quarter.
The revenue decline has partly attributed to “softness in our retail channel stemming from heightened competition” in Illinois and a “similar trend” in Massachusetts, 4Front said in a release.
CEO Andrew Thut, however, said that he was “encouraged by the solid progress we’ve made this quarter,” noting that the company scaled up cannabis production in Illinois, expanded its marijuana wholesale footprint in Massachusetts, and saw an increase in revenue at its operations in Washington state.
“Despite the uncertainties surrounding federal cannabis reform, we’re optimistic, especially given signs that we may have unexpected advocates in the incoming administration,” Thut said. “We’re confident entering Q4 and are ready to return to growth and sustainable positive cash flows from operations.”
During the third quarter, 4Front retained Canaccord Genuity Corp. to help with an internal reorganization, particularly regarding its financial position, and also took out an $850,000 loan to finance ongoing operations. That assistance, 4Front said this week, is still expected to bear fruit.
The company also continued building out a gigantic 250,000-square-foot cultivation and manufacturing facility in Matteson, Illinois, where 4Front has plans to go from its current 24,000 square feet of cultivation canopy to 34,800 square feet by mid-January, with a potential annual yield of 3,000 pounds of biomass. 4Front hopes to leverage the new grow to seize more wholesale market share in the midwestern state, it said.
In Massachusetts, 4Front saw a dramatic 56% increase in its wholesale business revenue, up to nearly $2 million for the quarter, it reported. That has the company expecting monthly wholesale revenue of about $1 million going forward in the near term.
4Front also continued debuting new product lines in various states where it has cannabis licenses, including in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington.
At the end of September, 4Front had $278 million in total assets, including $1.2 million in cash, against $326.5 million in total liabilities, including debts of $68.9 million.
