“We will continue to employ a talented team in Alberta, operate an Edmonton office and remain committed to our business in Canada as a whole,” Aurora Cannabis’ vice president of communications Michelle Lefler told Global News in an email.
“This decision was not taken lightly. The company continues to make tough yet responsible changes to optimize our business to meet the challenges and opportunities of the cannabis industry and position Aurora for long-term global success.
“Our patients and consumers in Alberta can continue to rely on Aurora as a provider of premium cannabis they trust,” Lefler wrote.
Aurora Cannabis’ Aurora Sky facility in Edmonton, May 12, 2022.
Global News
“Aurora’s roots will always be in Alberta. We are grateful to all Albertans for their ongoing support of our business. Most importantly, we want to recognize the hard work of our employees and thank them for their contributions.
“During this transition, we are committed to supporting all employees who are impacted by this decision and will provide a full suite of resources to assist them.”
For their part, officials at the Edmonton International Airport are thinking of the affected employees and workers.
“Aurora Cannabis is a valued tenant at EIA and we are sorry to see this announcement related to its Aurora Sky facility,” said Myron Keehn, EIA’s vice president of air service and business development. “We need to have further discussions with the company before we can comment on what the future looks like for this building and EIA.”
Aurora Cannabis created its headquarters in Edmonton in 2018.
The Edmonton-based company announced job cuts in December 2020. The workforce at Aurora Sky near the Edmonton International Airport — one of the world’s largest cannabis facilities — was scaled back by 75 per cent. That meant 214 workers lost jobs at that time.
2:00 Aurora Cannabis to close facility south of Edmonton
Aurora Cannabis to close facility south of Edmonton – Sep 22, 2021
“The market, when it first began, we didn’t know how it would look five years down the road, or even three years down the road,” said Kyle Murray, dean of the Alberta School of Business.
“It turns out — maybe not surprisingly — that price is incredibly important to consumers. The Aurora Sky facility, while it was built with a lot of technology and to create a really premium product, it’s not as cost effective as some of the other producers. In a market where consumers want lower prices, that facility wasn’t really designed to deliver.”
1:49 Cannabis cutbacks in Alberta: Where the industry stands after two years of legalization
Cannabis cutbacks in Alberta: Where the industry stands after two years of legalization – Dec 17, 2020
When the facility opened, Murray said it was clear it was built to produce a premium product, but that comes at a higher price point and cost.
“I remember thinking at the time… it was really a high-end facility and it would really require at least part of the market to be willing to pay premium prices.”
He said the cannabis industry is now adjusting to what the market — and consumers — want. Demand, he said, just isn’t at the level of supply.
“Probably, in the initial excitement, people overestimated demand and how many people wanted the product and I think they underestimated how price sensitive people would be and how important price would be in the decision.
“Demand is not what we initially thought it might be and prices are lower and there’s more pressure for prices to be lower from the consumer.”
1:35 Aurora Cannabis downsizing part of ‘right-sizing’ industry: analyst
Aurora Cannabis downsizing part of ‘right-sizing’ industry: analyst – Jun 23, 2020
On Thursday, Aurora Cannabis outlined plans to save an additional $70-$90 million by the end of H1 fiscal 2023.
Its efforts to save costs of goods sold “now include the closure of the Aurora Sky facility in Edmonton (previously announced to be operating at approximately 25 per cent capacity), in keeping with our diversified business portfolio, prudent approach to capital allocation, and our strategy in the Canadian adult-use market to focus on higher margin premium categories,” the company’s news release said.
The fiscal update showed Aurora Cannabis’ medical cannabis net revenue was up eight per cent from the year before. That revenue growth was driven by the international medical cannabis business, the company stated.
Its consumer cannabis net revenue decreased to $10.3 million from $14.4 million the previous quarter, due mainly to “industry-wide pricing pressures across our portfolio and exacerbated by retail store closures in key provinces.”
“During Q3, we continued focusing on our global medical cannabis business because it is both defensive and stable, with cash gross margins that exceed 60 per cent,” CEO Miguel Martin said in Aurora’s news release Thursday.
“In terms of the Canadian adult-use market, we continue to adjust to current conditions, are excited for future contributions from the Thrive team, and are committed to a continuous stream of innovation, including advancing our premiumization strategy.”
In November 2020, Aurora Cannabis said it was indefinitely pausing operations at its Aurora Sun property in Medicine Hat, a decision that would result in about 30 layoffs.
In June of that year, the company laid off 700 workers and announced plans to cease operations at five facilities in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.
1:45 Behind-the-scenes tour of Aurora Sky
Behind-the-scenes tour of Aurora Sky – Oct 9, 2018
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
