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Curaleaf Holdings Inc. remains on track to generate up to $1.5 billion in revenue in 2022 — up from $1.2 billion in 2021 — despite a rockier first quarter, the executive chairman of the company told MarketWatch.
Boris Jordan said it’s all about the second, third and fourth quarters because the Wakefield, Mass., cannabis company sees ample opportunities for growth in New Jersey and other states.
Curaleaf
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CURA,
has reiterated its expected 2022 revenue range of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion despite posting first-quarter revenue of $407.4 million, about $2.2 million short of the analyst estimate, according to FactSet. Curaleaf’s loss of 3 cents a share matched the analyst estimate in its quarterly financial update on Tuesday.
“March was our best month in our history but January was one of worst,” Boris Jordan said. “The market is coming back and we’re seeing growth. We feel really good about the rest of the year.”
As one of seven companies that began legal N.J. sales on April 21, Curaleaf has been supplying wholesale cannabis to the Garden State as well as operating its own store, with two more store openings on the way. Sales have been robust at its Bellmawr, N.J., store, which is running on track to generate about $100 million in sales.
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Curaleaf is also expecting to start booking revenue from a major new growing facility in Illinois during the second quarter, and it’s grown its market share in Florida to 17% from 8% a year ago.
Cowen analyst Vivien Azer on Tuesday reiterated an outperform rating on Curaleaf and said the company’s revenue number reflected industry trends.
“Despite deflationary/consumer headwinds, margins should expand sequentially from here on scaling cultivation and NJ,” Azer said. “With solid momentum going into 2Q, we believe CURA is well positioned to return to sequential growth beginning in 2Q.”
Analysts currently expect second-quarter revenue of $442.7 million for Curaleaf, up from $391.1 million in the year-ago quarter and ahead of the $407.4 million reported in the first quarter, according to FactSet data.
Curaleaf also promoted its president Matt Darin to the role of chief executive officer. Current CEO Joe Bayern will launch a new division at Curaleaf focused on consumer packaged goods.
Shares of Curaleaf traded flat on Wednesday. The stock is down 38.3% in 2022, compared to a 46% drop by the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF
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