The Cannabist Co Hldg

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for participating in today's conference call to discuss ColumbiaCare's financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31st, 2021. This call is being recorded for replay purposes. A replay of the audio webcast will be available in the investor section of the company's website approximately two hours after the completion of the call and will be archived for 30 days. I would now like to turn the conference over to Lee Evans, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets for ColumbiaCare.

Thank you, Melissa. Good morning, and thank you for joining ColumbiaCare's fourth quarter and full year 2021 earnings conference call. With me today are Nicholas Vita, our Chief Executive Officer, David Hart, our Chief Operating Officer, Derek Watson, our Chief Financial Officer, and Jesse Shannon, our Chief Growth Officer. Earlier this morning, we issued a press release reporting our fourth quarter and full year 2021 results, which we also filed with the applicable Canadian Securities Regulatory Authorities on CDAR and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR. A copy of this release is available on the Investors section of our corporate website, where you will also be able to access a replay of this call for up to 30 days. Please note that the remarks we make today regarding future expectations, plans, and prospects for the company constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, which we disclose in more detail in the Risk Factors section of our annual information form, dated March 31, 2021, as filed with applicable regulatory authorities and posted on CDAR in our amended Form 10, filed with the SEC on February 15, 2022, on EDGAR. We remind you that any forward-looking statements represent our views as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. While we may update any such forward-looking statements in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so except as otherwise required by applicable law. Also, please note that on today's call, we refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted EBITDA, These measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. ColumbiaCare considers certain non-GAAP measures to be meaningful indicators of the performance of its business in addition to, but not as a substitute for, our GAAP results. A reconciliation of such non-GAAP financial measures to their nearest comparable GAAP measure is included in our press release issued earlier today. As this is our first call reporting under GAAP, for a final time on this call, we will also refer to certain non-IFRS financial measures such as combined adjusted EBITDA, These references are intended to assist analysts in assessing our results as our 2021 guidance was presented with reference to IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. A reconciliation of such non-IFRS financial measures to their nearest comparable IFRS measure is included in our press release issued earlier today. With that, I will turn the call over to Nicholas Vita to get us started. Nick?

Thank you, Leigh. And good morning, everyone. Our team is very pleased to be with you today to discuss our fourth quarter and full year results, as well as our outlook for the coming year. But first, allow me to comment on the exciting news that Columbia Care will be combining with Cresto Labs to become the undisputed leader in cannabis in North America. As was announced yesterday, Columbia Care will be combining with Cresto Labs, creating the new leader in North American cannabis. Together, Columbia Care and Cresto Labs will be the largest multi-state operator on a pro forma basis with over $1.4 billion in revenue. and leading positions in 17 states and the District of Columbia. The combined company will have over 130 retail locations, a more diversified revenue stream by market, full vertical integration in 16 states, and an industry-leading wholesale platform. The combined company's scale will enable us to leverage our investments, increase vertical integration, and reduce redundant operating costs more effectively. The share exchange will give Columbia shareholders approximately 35% ownership, the combined company on a fully diluted in the money basis. To summarize it succinctly, the combination of the best companies in the business enables us to accelerate our strategies for the growth and deliver the best outcomes for shareholders. Crestville and Columbia Care are aligned in our vision for the future of cannabis, and together we will be best positioned to continue our mission as a combined force. With Columbia Care's strategic footprint, national footprint, and the most attractive markets, especially those poised to transition to adult use, such as New Jersey and Virginia, alongside Cresco's success in execution and incredibly popular brands, we will together create the most important and investable company in cannabis. Getting to know Charlie Bechtel, the co-founder and CEO of Cresco, along with his team and the culture at Cresco, has given me a great deal of confidence in the ability to successfully integrate ColumbiaCare and maximize the value of the tremendous footprint we've assembled so that we can best serve our patients and consumers. I am now more excited than ever about the possibilities before us, and together with Cresco, we will accelerate the pace of profitable growth. Let me turn briefly to the fourth quarter and full year of 2021. Looking back on the past year, I am so proud of what we've been able to achieve. In 2021, we opened 12 new retail locations, inclusive of Medicine Man in Colorado, entered three new markets, West Virginia, Missouri, and Utah, upgraded 22 locations to the new cannabis branding, and expanded to 49 different product categories across our house of brands, such as Classics, 777, and Seed & Strain. Added more than 1 million square feet of additional growth capacity, including the largest cultivation facility on the East Coast in Riverhead on the North Fork of Long Island, New York. These achievements and up and others that David will discuss in more detail in just a few moments drove strong year-over-year financial results. On a GAAP basis, revenue rose from $179.5 million to over $460 million, an increase of 156%. On a combined IFRS basis, revenue rose 139% in line with our guidance. We extended our record of sequential growth every quarter of 2021, including 5% sequential growth in 4Q. We had strong bottom-line growth with combined adjusted EBITDA reaching a record $85 million, also in line with our guidance. Last quarter, I spoke about our four North Stars being the MSO in the best markets for the best margins, establishing a nationwide retail experience with cannabis, as well as a highly recognizable and sought-after national brand portfolio, continuing to build upon our unique and sustainable competitive advantages and leveraging data-driven decision-making to ensure customer loyalty and drive the highest returns on investments. We are relentlessly pursuing these initiatives and will continue to do so up to and through the combination with Cresco. The groundbreaking combination of the two companies will accelerate the pace of change, and it represents a clear inflection point in the growth opportunity for both companies. We believe the time for consolidation is now, allowing for the preservation and generation of cash flow today and creating the most strategic positioning ahead of federal legalization and greater capital markets access. We look forward to having all of you with us on this journey as we create the most important and investable company in cannabis. Now, I will turn the call over to our CFO, Derek Watson, to cover our financial results and outlook. Derek?