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spk02: Good afternoon, and welcome to the Forefront Ventures' fourth quarter and full year 2023 earnings conference call. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session. As a reminder, during the course of this conference call, Forefront's management may make forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. These results are outlined in the Risk Factors section of the company's filings and disclosure materials. Any forward-looking statement should be considered in light of these factors. Please note that a safe harbor, any outlook presented speaks as of today, and Forefronts Management does not undertake any obligation to revise any forward-looking statements in the future. Also, please note on today's call we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures such as EBITDA and 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. Forefront ventures consider certain non-GAAP measures to be meaningful indicators of the performance of its business in addition to but not as a substitute for our gap results. A reconciliation of such non-gap financial measures to their nearest comparable gap measure is included in our press release issued earlier today. I will now turn the call over to Andrew Tuth, Chief Executive Officer of Forefront Ventures. Please go ahead.
spk07: Thank you, Operator, and thanks, everyone, for joining us. On the call today, I'm joined by our Consulting President, Carl Ciascano, CFO Peter Campion, President of Corporate Development, Ray Landgraf, and EVP of Operations, Brandon Mills. I'll begin today with an overview of our Q4 and full year highlights, and Brandon will follow with an overview of each state's market trends and performance. Next, Peter will detail our financials, and we'll conclude with a Q&A with our management team. As the new CEO of Forefront Ventures, I'm thrilled to take the helm at such a pivotal juncture for our company. With the long-awaited opening of our new cultivation and production center in Mattson, Illinois, now upon us, we have a focused growth strategy with retail and wholesale expansion in Illinois as the centerpiece. This growth will be buttressed by a continued firming in Massachusetts, and with the steady improvements we have seen in our business over the first three months of this year and into April, I'm very confident with what's in store for growth this year. Last year saw notable advances with our wholesale revenue increasing year over year by an impressive 75% in Illinois and 42% in Massachusetts, underscoring our ability to leverage our CPG strategies developed in mature markets to solidify our position in emerging ones. In Washington, there was a resurgence of market strength with a near doubling of flower revenue from Q1 to Q4. Additionally, we successfully eliminated cash burn in California and strategically deferred a large portion of our debt obligations. In the first quarter of 2024, we converted $23 million of senior secured debt into common equity. This action represents a significant milestone within our broader strategy, and we continue to have ongoing and constructive discussions to further fortify our balance sheet. Despite these achievements, there's no denying that 2023 was a challenging year for Forefront. We had to navigate a disappointing withdrawal from the California market, costly delays in getting power to our new Illinois facility in Maxson, and a dip in retail sales as we turned the dials on cost-cutting and balanced that with giving our customers the product selection and customer experience they have grown accustomed to. We navigated through those challenges by taking decisive actions to overhaul our business, focusing on areas with the highest potential for future growth. and redoubling our efforts on product quality, innovation, and delighting our customers. This involved a strategic reset, during which we installed presidents for each state team to streamline decision-making and accountability, and shed assets that hindered progress. This realignment is already paying dividends, as our business has shown steady improvement as we move through Epival 2024 and into a significant growth phase as the Mattson facility and additional retail comes online. Our approach, while necessary, was far from painless. Between the second and fourth quarters, we focused on making our operations more efficient, optimizing our marketing and product development departments, and discontinuing unprofitable brand segments and products. These actions were aimed at enhancing our operational efficiency and laying a foundation for focused innovation and growth. Moreover, we made the decision to withdraw from markets where our present was not sustainable given current market conditions. Notably, this included exiting the California market, a state that we still believe holds immense potential but is in the midst of experiencing a reset of its own. Similarly, divesting our single retail operation in Michigan was another tough but necessary decision to optimize our business. I have been deeply involved with all initiatives to identify and remedy inefficiencies, and that proactive approach, rooted in the insights from our teams on the ground, has already yielded significant results across our facilities. We faced our fair share of challenges, such as the underutilization of our substantial investment in our Matson facility. But I'm proud to say that these obstacles are now behind us. We're rapidly advancing towards full operational capacity. Positioning this asset in our retail expansion is a cornerstone of our forward growth. As we look towards the second half of 2024, our strategy is clear. to redeploy our resources towards areas of innovation and market expansion, guided by the lessons learned from this period of recalibration, with a clear line of sight to doubling the revenue base of this business. This process of renewal, though not without short-term consequences, is a testament to our resilience and commitment to long-term success, ensuring that we move forward unburdened by the past and fully focused on seizing future opportunities. I want to shine a spotlight on our Illinois operations. specifically our progress at the Mattson facility. This site has become a linchpin in our strategy with a focus on the efficiency of our execution and the concrete milestones we've set for ourselves amid external regulatory and utility challenges that were beyond our control. In terms of our growth strategy, we have a detailed roadmap with clear benchmarks. We anticipate bringing plants into our Mattson facility in the first week of May, marking a significant step in our cultivation plan. Following this, we are planning for our rooms to come online sequentially, with two additional rooms coming online every week. To give you a sense of scale, our current 9,000 square foot grow, combined with our retail operations, is already generating an average of over $3 million in revenue each month. And that's just the beginning. By this summer, we will have expanded our canopy to over 40,000 square feet, effectively four to five times our current production capacity. and expanded our manufacturing footprint by over 34,000 square feet. Building on the exceptional quality of our NECC Holliston facility in Massachusetts, recognized as one of the best in the country, the transition to the purpose-built Matson facility with its vastly superior cultivation capabilities will take our quality to an entirely new level. This transition will also substantially increase our genetic library and boost our overall flower output. That's the stage for the launch of exciting new brands and products, marking a significant leap forward in our operations. With our lab expected to come online in May, we're also exploring opportunities to initiate toll processing sooner than anticipated. This would not only serve our needs, but also present a chance to offer these services to others, maximizing the utility of our facility right out of the gate and addressing an overall shortfall of toll processing services and high-quality bulk derivative products in the market. The current market dynamics, where the demand for toll processing and high-quality bulk derivative products far exceeds the available supply, mirrors the landscape we've observed for B2B wholesale flour. This scarcity presents us with substantial opportunity to leverage our Matson facility, setting the groundwork for a robust wholesale marketplace. The primary benefits of having our lab operational are threefold. First and foremost, it eliminates the need to pay high fees for toll processing, as we will manage all of our material in-house, ensuring our supply chain for derivative products and innovation remains under our control. Secondly, it negates the reliance on third parties for these processes, optimizing both cost and time. Lastly, we will be able to launch edibles in the market, a small but creatively significant category for Forefront, and a large part of our origin in DNA. We are on the brink of witnessing a significant increase in top line revenue, with ample opportunity for further expansion as we boost our retail footprint. We initiated our retail expansion strategy in Illinois in the previous quarter, setting the stage for the opening of our Norridge location in the next three weeks, followed by the Elston Logan location in Q4. Furthermore, as we advance the selection and development of our additional retail locations, We've strategically targeted markets within Illinois with limited local licensing caps. This approach allows us to look beyond Chicago, identifying opportunities that match our careful market analysis for the best economic impact. Our nuanced approach aims to drive our expansion towards the state's maximum of 10 locations through both organic openings and strategic acquisitions of high-performing retail sites, as capital resources permit. Each new location is projected to boost monthly revenue by $850,000 to $1.2 million, promising strong returns and rapid payback period, thanks to vertical integration. Concurrently, we're addressing wholesale channel constraints to meet rising demand. The activation of our Matson facility is expected to catalyze wholesale growth, supporting a steady increase in revenue. This careful expansion aligns with our commitment to strategic retail development, and wholesale channel enhancements across Illinois. We are thrilled about the future of Illinois and its role in our growth story. I'd also like to take a moment to highlight the dynamic advancements within our cultivation strategy, particularly our adaptive phenotype hunting initiated in mid-2023. This innovative approach has led to a more diverse and rapidly changing variety of strains offered in our stores, reflecting market trends and direct feedback from our staff and customers. Informed by comprehensive data on strain performance, our selections are now more aligned with consumer preferences, optimizing our canopy space use. In the ever-evolving landscape of the cannabis market, our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction has driven us to strengthen our focus on product development and market engagement. Our observations in Massachusetts and Illinois revealed an opportunity for brand alignment and customer engagement. Many of our consumers were unaware that the high-quality flour they enjoyed was cultivated by us, prompting the strategic branding of our flour under Mission Cannabis. This initiative, launched in the first quarter of 2024, has fostered a stronger connection between our retail environments and the premium flour we produce, enhancing customer trust and loyalty through positive brand associations. We've broadened our reach into the consumer experience with the introduction of Legends Tasters in Illinois and Island Tasters in Massachusetts, offering customers a curated taste of our strain excellence right at the point of sale. Following their success, we introduced Mission Tasters in both states, delighting customers and solidifying our dedication to a diverse and quality-driven selection. In Massachusetts, the launch of The Hunt, a brand that celebrates the craft of pheno-hunting, garnered an exceptional response, particularly through the use of QR codes on packaging that encouraged customer feedback and participation. This success has led us to bring the hunt to Illinois in early 2024, and we remain dedicated to keeping those popular selections a staple of our menus. Notably, we've implemented a cultivar report card system, establishing rigorous metrics that include yield, THC, and terpene content, and cost efficiency to ensure only the most promising cultivars are produced. By diversifying our crop rooms, we've enriched our menu variety, and with new dry and cure techniques, and the shift to rockwool media, we've significantly improved harvest frequency and the quality control. After initial challenges in Q1 of 2023, we're proud to report a substantial increase in our pass rate for biomass, reaching 96% from April through December 2023. all while adhering to stringent quality standards. Our recent investments in water activity monitoring have significantly improved terpene preservation, enhancing the aroma and flavor profiles of our strains, and moving away from the generic factory taste. Notably, the banana pea cultivar archived a record 37% THC level, the highest in our history and exceptional in lab tests. Our product line now boasts an average THC level of 25%, with several cultivars exceeding 30, and an overall average cannabinoid content of nearly 31%. We also remain steadfast in our commitment to research and development in the rapidly expanding vape segment, which continues to demonstrate significant growth and swift innovation in hardware. Our ongoing R&D endeavors ensure we stay at the cutting edge of this dynamic market. This dedication has already borne fruit, with a successful launch of Crystal Clear Blast this year, with Easy Puff Vapes launched in February, and Marmabar Disposable Vapes in March. As we reflect on this past year, it was a genuine battle between California regulators' struggles to transition to a regulated market, as well as regulatory and utility delays in Mattson. On top of the numerous industry-specific challenges, it was a trying stretch, But we learn from our mistakes and become a stronger team as a result. 2024 is the year where we get back to what got us here, a year of action and correction, a time to rectify past oversights and amplify our strengths. The strides we've made in refining our operations are already self-evident. Notably, our flour is as good as it's ever been. We have created a more robust variety of strains, and we have innovated and expanded our product lines. Noteworthy advancements include improved vape technology, including the unique blast button introduced on crystal clear disposables, and a fun and small devices for the Marma's Bar. We're also adding more minor cannabinoids, more variety in pre-rolls, and we're soon going to be introducing liquid diamonds into Marma Bar's vapes, herb sticks, and infused 1988 blunts. These improvements clearly demonstrate our team's skill and commitment to unlocking the full potential of this resilient business. and the progress we're making is truly a tribute to the unwavering spirit, resolve, and passion of our Forefront team. Before I hand it over, I did want to touch on my new role as CEO, the team I have put in place, and highlight the alignment that our insiders have with our shareholders. As many of you know, I have been with Forefront for almost a decade, largely in roles related to capital formation, investor relations, license acquisition, and strategy. Last fall, I was asked by my partners to take on more operational responsibilities in my home state of Massachusetts, as we've been looking to bolster in-market leadership presence and streamline accountability and decision-making. Having been directly involved in the formation of our Massachusetts operations, I was happy to accept that role. In less than six months, we've made significant strides in improving, expanding, and innovating across all major revenue categories. from flour and pre-rolls to vapes and edibles. Our redoubled efforts to surprise and delight our customers with a superior retail experience and quality, innovative products are beginning to yield significant results. With our continuous schedule of product launches and marketing initiatives, we're confident that this positive momentum will persist through 2024, not only in Massachusetts, but also in Illinois and Washington. In the final days of 2023, our former CEO, Leo Gontmaker, expressed to the board his desire to step back from the day-to-day operations of the company. The board then asked me to accept the position, which after much thought, I accepted. Simultaneously with my acceptance, the Gontmaker family converted a large portion of their senior secured debt into equity, which had the effect of not only greatly reducing Forefront's debt load, but provided a great deal of confidence in the leadership and direction of the company. and what is essentially an all-in bet from the family, one of Forefront's biggest shareholders. As I step into the role of CEO, my decision to accept this position stems from my unwavering belief in the exceptional quality of our team and the strategic direction of our business. My commitment is anchored in a straightforward yet powerful goal, to prioritize our customers at every turn, ensuring their needs and expectations not only guide our decisions, but also inspire our innovations. My vision also expands to maximizing value for our shareholders, recognizing that their trust and investment empower us to pursue innovative growth strategies and achieve sustainable profitability. Looking ahead, I am energized to lead our team as we navigate market challenges and seize growth opportunities. And I'm very confident that we have the assets and expertise to meet the ambitious targets we've set. With that, I will now pass the call over to Brandon to discuss trends and our performance in our key markets.
spk03: Thanks, Andrew. I'll now begin with a breakdown of our performance state by state. First up, Massachusetts. From the beginning of 2021 to the end of 2022, flower prices in Massachusetts declined by over 50%. However, 2023 was a period of significant stabilization with minimal month-on-month variance especially noticeable in Q4. Despite that positive trend at the macro level, Forefront faced a number of internal headwinds within our Massachusetts cultivation operations stemming from some legacy infrastructure and general resource and budget constraints. This included a need for attention to deferred maintenance, which ultimately resulted in less than optimal growing environments for a part of the year and a dip in both quality and output from some of our facilities as a result. I'm happy to share that we have since made the necessary investments to address critical maintenance capex, upgrade our cultivation environments to the standards we've proven at our NACC Holliston facility, and rewrite and tighten our SOPs, particularly those around cleaning and preventative maintenance protocols. These actions have fundamentally and positively transformed our local operations en masse, directly addressing the root cause of our earlier challenges. The outcome of these efforts are already becoming evident. from the successful launch of the Hunt brand to record level consistency and material improvements in quality and yield across our facilities, alongside the introduction of new product lines in the first quarter of 2024. Shifting to retail and wholesale in Massachusetts. Mid-year, internal constraints related to budget and resources temporarily impacted our ability to offer the product assortment, customer experience, and loyalty incentives we had traditionally provided. With recent budgetary support for third-party brands and products, along with revamped loyalty programs, we are now introducing new and exciting products and delivering the diverse shopping experience mission customers have come to expect. A positive byproduct of this effort is that as we shift toward less dependence on first-party inventory, we're now able to expand our growth opportunities with third-party retailers in Massachusetts and believe we have a significant and largely untapped upside potential in that channel especially given the quality of flour we are now consistently producing and the exciting roadmap of new products and categories ahead. I'll now dive a bit deeper into retail. Our mission retail revenue in Massachusetts witnessed a slight contraction from 22 to 23, in line with broader market dynamics and more specifically reflecting the intense competition faced by our Brookline location. The opening of a new competitor store less than 100 feet away in Q4 underscored the fiercely competitive retail environment. As we look ahead and following adjustments made through the end of last year and into Q1, including the introduction of the new Mission Cannabis brand in Massachusetts and the elimination of the tiered menu in pricing, we're experiencing a notable positive trend across various metrics from March compared to January and February. The month-over-month comparison reveals several encouraging developments, including a net sales increase of over 6%. Transactions, average ticket size, and new customer sales all rose in the low to mid single digits through Q1 2024, demonstrating a support level and a positive trend line we expect to carry into Q2 and beyond. As we look further ahead and anticipate regulatory evolution in Massachusetts, We also stand ready to expand our retail footprint should the state lift its current cap on store numbers, leveraging our existing cultivation and manufacturing infrastructure to support this potentially material growth opportunity with minimal additional capex. Shifting gears to our wholesale performance in Massachusetts, analogous in many ways to the dynamics in Illinois, which I'll come to later, we saw an impressive 42% year-over-year growth. As we reduce our reliance on first-party inventory in our mission retail stores from a historical high of over 90% down to our target of 40 to 50% and take our new high-quality flour and other products out to the wholesale channel, we anticipate a healthy shift in our revenue mix in the state and a 2 to 3x wholesale growth opportunity with minimal impact on working capital. Our product launch pipeline in Massachusetts is designed to cater to a wide range of consumer preferences. Flower enthusiasts can look forward to monthly releases of new strains from The Hunt, available in both 3.5 gram jars and 1 gram pre-rolls, with future releases already planned. June will see the debut of Smoke Breaks, offering a 0.35 gram 5-pack tin, ideal for use on the go. Additionally, the Marma's lineup is expanding with the May launch of the Marma's Bar, a fruit-flavored disposable vape, and the Marma's Celebration Collection Variety Pack. Starting in May, our Marma's Edibles will also feature minor cannabinoid SKUs, broadening the options available to our consumers. In summary, despite local and temporary challenges through the middle of 2023, we are excited about our new plan and direction in the state under Andrew's leadership. and we see a clear opportunity for both growth and diversification ahead. We remain committed to our efforts to being one of the top quality flower producers in the state, to optimizing our first and third-party product mix and strain availability at Mission retail stores to deliver the experience our customers deserve and love, and to focusing on innovating in large and high-growth product categories, such as pre-rolls, infused products, edibles, and vapes, to drive wholesale growth. We are committed to winning in Massachusetts and believe we have the team, strategy, and capabilities in the state to compete for market share with anyone. Turning the focus to Illinois, it's clear that this market stands as the primary engine for our growth, given its large addressable market, relatively limited license framework, and the significant competitive advantage we have with our Madison facility and expanding retail footprint. Throughout 2023, We were supply constrained in Illinois, which both limited our ability to fully meet the demand for our high-quality flour and pre-rolls in our wholesale channel, and created a larger-than-desired working capital draw to maintain the quantity and diversity of third-party inventory levels we needed at Mission retail stores. Despite these challenges, our initiative to launch vape products through a toll processing partnership ahead of our Madison facility becoming operational has paid dividends. and the impending production scale-up at Matson is set to eliminate our capacity constraints, enabling rapid growth in our wholesale channel. In 2023, our retail footprint in Illinois remained static at two locations, South Chicago and Calumet City. Overall retail sales saw pressure in line with overall price compression observed during the period, attributable to a combination of competitive pressures from new market entrants our internal challenges from budget and resource cuts mid-year that impacted our product assortment and loyalty programs, and the overall micro pricing pressure. Specifically, the price of flour experienced a 12.5% decline year over year in the state, while derivative products like vape and edibles saw prices decrease by approximately 15%. However, towards the end of Q4 and into 2024, we've observed a slowing and stabilization of these price declines across all categories, with a notable month-over-month increase in December and February compared to previous months. Our wholesale channel has experienced exceptional growth, showcasing a 75% increase in revenue through 2023. This progress was driven by strong vape sales and significant improvements in the quality and availability of our flower products, including the launch of the Island brand. As we've mentioned before, it all starts with flour, and as our quality climbed last year and we were able to do so consistently month after month, especially through the back half of the year, the results have trickled down into each derivative category beneath it, driving growth of the whole product portfolio. As Andrew mentioned, we are happy to share that our progress in bringing our flagship medicine facility online is going according to our previously communicated timeline and budget. There are a number of significant improvements that will be available out of the gate in Massen that give us a high degree of confidence that we can not only fortify our output in terms of biomass and end products produced, but can improve upon the already impressive flower quality we're now achieving out of Elk Grove. Key improvements include essential infrastructure enhancements like waterproof walls and advanced drainage and irrigation systems, which will collectively reduce the risk of mold and other airborne contaminants. Furthermore, Cutting-edge features like adjustable LED lighting across all rooms, automated fertigation systems, humidity controls, and CO2 systems, alongside enhanced HVAC capabilities, none of which we've historically had in Elk Grove, provide us with an unparalleled ability to finely tune our growing environment. These upgrades will yield considerable benefits, including healthier and more diverse plants, improved yields, and consistently high-quality manufactured products produced at scale. We are also thrilled to return to innovation in Illinois, led by our dedicated product development and R&D departments shared by our teams in Washington and Massachusetts. Our upcoming product launches promise to significantly broaden our offering with a variety of targeted brands and products, which will help appeal to a broad addressable consumer market. As an example, in May, we're introducing the Marmot's Bar, a fruit-flavored disposable vape product suite alongside our lineup of 1988 premium 1-gram glass tip blunts available in both infused and uninfused options. Additionally, in June, we're set to release our new product, Smoke Breaks. Finally, consumers can anticipate new strains in the Mission Cannabis line and a second drop of Marma's Bar flavors slated for a summer launch. We are on a clear path to expanding our retail presence in the Illinois market. with the stated goal of operating 10 stores in 2025. This will be transformational for Forefront, as the weighted average value of one pound of flour to our business is nearly $4,000 per pound when sold through retail versus $2,500 per pound when sold through our wholesale channel across all products. There's also a measurable benefit to our cash conversion cycle, allowing us to fund growth more quickly. The upcoming openings of our Norridge location in May an Elston Logan location this fall, are demonstrating our competency in quickly and efficiently standing up retail nodes in Illinois. In addition to a robust pipeline of great locations, we have the operational resources, including expertise in architecture and design, construction and project management, and the license acquisition framework and process dialed in, which allows us to complete our latest project in under nine months at nearly half the cost of our average previous retail project. The only factor now bottlenecking our rapid retail expansion is capital. As we prepare for retail expansion and the revenue multiplier that comes with it, as I mentioned, we remain excited about our wholesale growth opportunity and plan to dynamically scale our cultivation capacity at Matson and lockstep with the demand we see through both channels. In conclusion, we could not be more bullish on our prospects in Illinois. Our platform, in terms of our team, cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and retail is currently stable in the state, ready to be scaled into the growth opportunity ahead. We have a defined and measurable plan to more than double our retail footprint in 2024 and four to five X our cultivation and manufacturing capacities in our move from Elk Grove to Masson. The Masson facility itself will become the single biggest competitive advantage we possess in Illinois. And we are confident that our experiences both positive and negative in Washington and Massachusetts over a significant operating history make us uniquely qualified to capitalize on a facility and capability of its magnitude. Frankly, we're chopping at the bit to demonstrate what we're truly capable of and to compete for material market share, along with our much larger peers in the state of Illinois. Turning our attention to Washington, where our tenants and IT licensees maintained a notable 80% retail penetration rate throughout 2023 and into 2024. This steadfast market dominance is complemented by a significant growth in flower sales, showcasing a consistent upward trajectory from 1.6 million in Q1 to an impressive 3 million by Q4 of 2023, which represents a 19% increase from the previous quarter. As much as the experience in Washington has played a pivotal role in shaping successful operations in Massachusetts and Illinois, incorporating state-of-the-art cultivation practices from our Massachusetts operations has also been a game changer for the Washington team. Advanced techniques such as dry trimming, the use of rockwool and automated and precise irrigation and fertigation systems, and the implementation of cutting-edge LED lighting have been introduced, significantly boosting both yield and product quality. This approach, coupled with the standardization of operating procedures, has not only enhanced the quality and consistency of flour, but has also optimized our pricing strategy, thereby increasing revenue per gram sold. 2024 marks an exciting phase for the product lineup in Washington, with innovative offerings designed to meet evolving consumer preferences in this mature market. In February, Easy Puff disposable vapes were introduced, followed by the debut of Marma's Bar disposable vapes in March. Easy Puff is expanding its lineup with the introduction of flour and pre-rolls. Easy Puff joints have already launched at the start of this month, and Easy Apes, Quarters, Halves, and Ounces are set to debut at the end of the month. These launches are part of a broader initiative to expand the product range, including the addition of rosin SKUs, specialized edibles with unique cannabinoid profiles, such as Merry Mints, Cocoa Gems, and Milk Chocolate, and Cosmic Candy in flavors like Huckleberry and Elderberry. Each product is meticulously crafted to offer a distinct experience, catering to the diverse tastes of consumers. Moreover, the Marmot's Bar will see new flavors like Lychee, Orange Tsunami, Washington Apple, and Mango Sunrise, enriching the portfolio with a variety of tasty options. To recap, we have confidence in the ability to sustain and improve strong sales momentum and market share positions in Washington, supported by a strategic and actionable plan equipped with all the necessary tools to execute and compete. This commitment involves introducing innovative new products, refining processes to elevate product quality, and maintaining agility to quickly adapt to evolving consumer preferences and needs. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Peter to provide an overview of our financial results.
spk05: Thank you, Brandon. In the fourth quarter, Forefront reported revenue of $21 million compared to $26.7 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The full year revenue totaled $97.4 million against $107.6 million in the previous year. If we include Washington revenue, it would add another $30 million, increasing total revenue from product sales to $116.9 million. The financial performance for the year reflects certain market-driven challenges. In Massachusetts, revenue of $44.1 million for the year was 7.4% lower than the prior year due to decreased flower yields and a decline in pricing. Query revenue was $9.3 million. Illinois experienced a 7.1% decline in revenue to $37.7 million for the full year, $8.7 million for the fourth quarter primarily due to prevailing price compression in the market. Regarding the balance sheet as of December 31, 2023, the company had $3.4 million in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. The total debt principal amount as of year end was $84.2 million, with future debt maturities totaling $58.5 million, excluding certain contingent liabilities. Following the year end, we converted $23 million of senior debt to equity and improved our debt profile and balance sheet. To wrap up, we are excited to turn the page from 2023, a year largely devoted to optimizing our portfolio focusing on the assets and markets that will drive future growth and profitability and eliminating the inefficiencies that have been holding us back. 2024 will be a pivotal and positive year ahead for Forefront. Our balance sheet is cleaner, our operational machine is stable, and the growth engine in Illinois retail and Mattson will be transformational for our future financial performance. I will now return the call to the operator to open the line for Q&A.
spk02: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Should you have a question, please press star followed by the one on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tweet on prompt acknowledging your request. Questions will be taken in the order received. Should you wish to cancel your request, please press star followed by the two. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. Once again, that is star and 1 to ask a question. Your first question comes from the line of Pablo Zwanik from Zwanik Association. Please go ahead.
spk06: Thank you, good afternoon. How are you? How are you doing? Brandon, can I just follow up on a comment you made there in terms of the Madison facility? I know the capacity expansion is about five times, but in terms of cadence, when do you start having the output to turn into revenue? I don't know if you can quantify third quarter, fourth quarter, 2025, just to try to model that. Thank you.
spk03: Thanks, Pablo. Yeah, so the plants will be going into the facility in May. So they have to go through a flower cycle, a harvest, a drag cure, and a trim. So it's going to be Q3 when we start to see that capacity actually increase from where it's at today.
spk06: Right. But do you see the five times?
spk03: It will be accretive in 2024.
spk06: Right. Got it. But by the third quarter, once you have those plans coming through, can we really count on the five times? Or is it more of a slowly phased in, two times in the second half and five times by early 2025?
spk03: Correct, by early 2025. It's going to come online kind of one room at a time according to a schedule as fast as we can, you know, safely bring it online. So I think it's staggered. I don't know when the final room comes online, but it will start in May.
spk06: Right. And then just following up on Illinois, you know, some companies speak about this publicly, others don't. But do you have a sense of how much capacity is coming into a market in Illinois over the next 12, 18 months?
spk08: I don't have a crystal ball.
spk03: I don't have any firm numbers that I've heard. Brian, are you on the line? Do you have a more precise number on when every room is online in Madison?
spk06: No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean the Madison facility. I was meaning more about the market in general. That was the question. Yeah. Sorry if that wasn't clear. Yeah.
spk03: Yeah, sorry, Pablo. I didn't mean to defer on that. I don't have any crystal ball on what's coming online. I don't know if anyone else on the forefront team wants to comment on that.
spk07: Yeah, the only thing that I would say is, you know, given how tight capital has been, you know, across the board for really almost three years, we don't anticipate a ton more. I think we're the biggest capacity coming online in that state. You know, the rest of the capacity is kind of, you know, 5,000-square-foot craft groves. The money-raising environment's been pretty tough for everyone, but particularly smaller operators. Thank you, D.C. So I'm not anticipating huge amounts of capacity coming online really in any state. Understood.
spk06: And then just moving on, In terms of your experience in Massachusetts, and I realize it's been a very competitive market, but like you explained, you have a very good quality product there and you've made improvements in the cultivation facility. Can you share some metrics, I don't know if from BDS or other market share metrics, how well your brands have done over the years in that market? And I understand it's been choppy because of the competitive environment, but just trying to get a sense of how well your brands did at some point there in that market.
spk07: Well, Pablo, we've had historically, so one of the things that's been going on in Massachusetts is, as Brandon mentioned, we had our Brookline store, which, you know, has seen a lot of competition come in online. And so, you know, that hurt us in Massachusetts. And then, you know, one of the things that we did, you know, to, you know, watch our costs in the middle part of the year was we had as much as 90 to 95% of our own product in the store. So, you know, the customer, you know, that you would have gotten away with that, you know, three, four years ago. In today's environment, the customer wants to come in and they want to see, you know, they want to see great product at a great price, but they also want to see variety. And so that was something that was lacking as we moved into the second half of last year that we have corrected. So the answer to your question is, you know, we have had We have had successes on wholesale, but we're really the rubbers just meeting the road. And so I look at this month as returning to what we think is going to be a huge year for wholesale in Massachusetts. And so we really haven't concentrated very hard on getting our brands out into third parties because we're consuming them all in our stores. So I hope to have a lot of positive things to say about this as the year goes on, as we raise capacity to meet wholesale demand and we're aggressively pursuing it.
spk06: Understood. Thank you. And one last one regarding the balance sheet. Obviously, you converted those $23 million that you talked about. Are you all happy right now where the balance sheet is, or is there still room to convert some of the debt, even if the convertible is still outstanding? Thank you.
spk07: Um, we are happier than we were with the balance sheet than we were four months ago. Um, uh, you know, having the God makers convert their portion of the ally debt was, was a huge deal. Not in terms of not only in terms of the debt load, but in terms of the interest payment and in the confidence hit. implied by the family for the go forward of the business you know they went from a senior secured position to common equity holders which you know as a as a shareholder as a fellow shareholder i took a lot of confidence in as well um you know we are we are from an operating standpoint we are more or less break even right now and as we have retail come online in in We have our third retail in Illinois come online in Norwich in the beginning of May, coupled with Mattson coming online in May. We are very sanguine about the opportunities for us to be an even bigger cash flow producer. Having said that, You know, the markets are still, you know, we are still very tight, as you know. And if we could get something federally in motion, I think that that has an opportunity to change. We are not running the business expecting that. So currently we've got the three and a half million of cash. We have not drawn down the $10 million facility from Altmore. And so we're comfortable with where we're sitting and we're generating cash operationally. But, you know, as Brandon alluded to, you know, if we want to get to our 10 stores open in Illinois, you know, ultimately, you know, we need the funding to loosen up a little bit. But in terms of being a self-sustaining business, we feel pretty good about where we sit today.
spk08: Got it. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.
spk04: Thank you.
spk02: Thank you once again. Should you have a question, please press start and the number one on your telephone keypad. And your next question comes from the line of Yihuan Kang from Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.
spk01: Hi there. Good evening. How are you? This is Yihuan Kang on for Matt Bottomley.
spk07: I'm doing well. How are you?
spk01: Doing well. Thanks. Excellent. So I just wanted to ask a question about the Illinois expansion strategy. I think part of the opening remarks you mentioned that there's been a wholesale demand on cannabis derivative products in that market. And so I was wondering if you would be able to provide some insight on how these conversations have been going so far and if there are already any kind of supply agreements in place for when the manufacturing part comes online in May.
spk07: Sure. I'll turn it over to Brandon and Brian to answer that.
spk03: Yeah, no problem. So as we get the lab online, I think first priority first is to shift our own supply to be running through our own lab. that we're producing all derivative products in-house. The result of that will be more control over the supply chain and then an improvement in margin because we're not paying a third party to do the tolling for us. Once we have that online and stable and have a good feel for what our excess capacity looks like, we can start to engage in some of those more formalized supply contracts. Right now, we have a number of discussions underway, but nothing contracted. They're just, you know, having been on the other side of it, when we were looking for a toll processing partner to help to either purchase derivative products from or enter into a toll processing relationship, they were few and far between in the state of Illinois. There just wasn't much capacity online. And that's why we're excited about the opportunity. But that's also why we're sort of in the first wave of folks that will be offering these services. So it's kind of a new world and we're in the top of the first.
spk01: Thank you. And just on the topic of 288 taxes, recently during the Q4 earnings season, one of your peers commented that they've gotten retroactive 288 tax refunds. And so I was wondering how you guys have taken this news and if you guys are working on anything currently to be a part of the group that ultimately asked for the refund from the IRS. Thanks.
spk08: Yeah, I'll let Carl deal with that question. Thank you. Hey, Ewan.
spk07: Yeah, we clearly are aware of the trend, and I don't want to say that we're suggesting that this should be the case about a year and a half ago almost, but we were. We will be actively pursuing all of our options in terms of the most efficient way for us to file taxes as well as to get any refunds both from the state and federal perspective that we can. The constitutionality of 280E may be but one of those avenues.
spk08: But we are, yeah, we're fully aware of the direction of the industry and we support it.
spk04: Does that answer your question? Yes. Thank you. I'll jump back into the queue. Great. Thank you once again. That is Star N1 to ask a question. There are no further questions at this time.
spk02: I will now hand the call back to Mr. Antutu for closing remarks.
spk07: Well, I very much look forward to turning the page on what was a pretty challenging 2023 into what is shaping up to be a pretty exciting 2024 with very discernible, identifiable growth bogeys on the horizon. So I appreciate everyone's interest and forefront, and I look forward to updating people as we move throughout what I see as a very encouraging year. So thanks for your time, and we'll talk to you in a little bit when we announce Q1. Thanks again. Bye.
spk02: Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you all for participating. You may all disconnect.
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