By Tanay Dhumal
(Reuters) -Pot firm Trulieve Cannabis on Wednesday posted a wider second-quarter loss and said the worse-than-usual temperature and lower customer spending were weighing on current-quarter performance.
The cannabis industry is struggling with lower prices and higher input costs amid a tight labor market and increased competition.
Wallet pressure on consumer behavior and extreme heat are influencing top-line results in the current quarter, company executives said in a post-earnings call.
“Extreme heat primarily impacts cannabis sales via reduced store traffic as consumers stay indoors,” said Eric Des Lauriers, Senior Research Analyst at Craig-Hallum Capital Group said.
Trulieve’s revenue fell 10% to $282 million for the reported quarter from a year earlier, while operating expenses ballooned 205% to $433 million.
The company said its retail revenue, excluding deferred revenue, increased by $3 million sequentially, driven by increased traffic and volume.
The pot firm, which like its peers has undertaken several cost saving measures, said it plans to reduce inventory and preserve cash by reducing wages and eliminating redundancies throughout 2023.
Trulieve posted a loss of $404 million, or $1.8 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $22 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)