Avant Brands Inc.

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Avant Brands Inc. fourth quarter and year end 2021 results conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in a listen only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star and zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Alyssa Berry, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome and thank you for joining Avant Brand's fourth quarter and fiscal 2021 results conference call. My name is Alyssa Berry, Investor Relations for Avant Brand. Speaking on our call today is Avant's founder and CEO, Norton Singhaven. and Chief Financial Officer Matthew Witt. Avant's Chief Operating Officer David Lin is also present and will be participating in our Q&A session. Our fourth quarter and fiscal 2021 results were disseminated yesterday and are available on CDAR and on our website at www.avantbrands.ca. Before we get started, I wish to remind everyone that some statements made on today's call are forward-looking in nature and therefore subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which are all outlined in detail in a regulatory filings available on CDAR. On this call, we will refer to the company as Avant Brands or Avant. We recognize that most of you have already reviewed our results issued yesterday. So being mindful of your time, Norton and Matt will keep their comments brief and we will then transition to our Q&A session. As we enter a new year, We take a brief opportunity to look back on our accomplishments this past year and provide the basis for our strategy and direction for 2022 and beyond. With that, I will turn the discussion over to our CFO, Matt Witt, who recently joined us in January to share the company's financial highlights. Norton will then provide a strategy update. Please go ahead, Matt.

Thank you, Alyssa, and good afternoon, everybody. A special thank you to those of you on Eastern Time for sticking with us late on a Friday afternoon. It's a pleasure to meet everyone. This is my first quarter as CFO, and I want to let you know that I am available to discuss our year-end results, and I look forward to connecting with our shareholders and the broader investment community. Please feel free to reach me directly through email for a chat. Touching on the key highlights for the fiscal year ended November 30th, 2021. We achieved record gross margins of $11 million, up 25% from the prior year. Gross revenue, sorry. Record gross revenue of $11 million, up 25% from prior year. Of this, recreational cannabis sales were up 29% to $7.8 million, demonstrating the significant demand for our premium cannabis brands. Cash outflow from operating activities before working capital was $1 million, compared to cash inflow of $1.4 million last year. The decrease was a result of our investment in new product development, packaging, and other initiatives that we expect will generate positive operating cash flows going forward. Gross margin before fair value adjustments was $3.7 million, or 39%, compared to $4 million, or 50%, the decrease being partially a result of launching concentrate products through third-party manufacturers. We do expect to receive the necessary licensing soon to increase that gross margin on those products. Operating expenses from continuing operations increased by $1.8 million, or 46%. The increase in operating expenses in the current year is due to various one-time non-recurring expenses, such as fees related to the TSX graduation, multiple financings during the year, and associated professional fees. Net loss from operations was $5.4 million compared to net income from operations of $0.3 million last year. Comprehensive loss was $11.2 million compared to $10.2 million. The comprehensive loss for the current year includes the one-time non-recurring fees related to TSX graduation, financings, and associated legal fees, a $5.8 million write-down on intangibles and goodwill, and a $1 million loss on extinguishment related to the repayment of debt. Despite the net loss, we have maintained a strong capital position with approximately $14.3 million of cash, $23.8 million of working capital, and no debt as at November 30th, 2021. and we had an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.6 million compared to $0.1 million last year. Overall, we are pleased with the results that we have achieved and our strong capital position with cash on hand, ample working capital, and no debt. This provides the flexibility to be both strategic and opportunistic as we continue to grow our business. On top of that, the base shelf prospectus that we filed last year for an aggregate offering of up to $50 million provides us with flexibility to capitalize on financing opportunities. during the 25-month period that it remains active. I'm just under 60 days into my role as CFO, and I have been impressed by the caliber and the dedication of the Avant team. Under Norton and David's leadership, we run very efficiently, and we are extremely tactical in our approach to opportunities, which I believe has contributed to Avant's success to date and will further propel our business. And finally, a big thank you to Norton and the team here, as well as the board, for their support during my transition. I will now pass it over to Norton for his remarks.