Ascend Wellness Commits to Expanding Current Footprint

Ascend Wellness

 

Company Profile:

Headquarters: New York, N.Y.

Operating States: New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland

Employees: ~2,000

Dispensaries: 31

Cultivation Sites: 6

Cultivation Capacity: 245,000 square feet

Geographic Focus: Eastern/Midwest markets

Q1 2023 Financial Highlights:

• Net Revenue: $114.2 million (34% YOY increase)
• Gross Profit: $35.7 million
• Net Loss: $18.5 million
• Cash Balance: $73.3 million

States With Retail Operations: New Jersey (3), Michigan (8), Ohio (2), Illinois (9), Massachusetts (3), Pennsylvania (2), Maryland (4)

Brands:  Simply Herb, Ozone, Ozone Reserve

2023 Expansion Highlights:

• During Q1 2023, Ascend opened outlet dispensaries in New Bedford, Mass., and Grand Rapids, Mich. Prior to this quarter, Ascend opened an outlet dispensary in Tinley Park, Ill. Including the Scranton, Pa., and Wayne, Pa., dispensaries, Ascend now operates five outlet dispensaries across the business.
• Ascend closed the acquisition of four dispensaries in Maryland from Devi Holdings, Inc. This marks Ascend's expansion to the seventh state with a total of 31 operating dispensaries across all seven states.
• Ascend recorded its first harvest at the Smithfield, Pa., cultivation facility and made the first sale of product produced from that facility to its two retail dispensaries in Pennsylvania.

Commentary:

Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, Ascend plans to continue building out its presence in existing states. "We have three dispensaries in Ohio [in] the pipeline that we plan to open in Q3," Rebecca Koar, senior vice president of investor relations, said. "We also have four additional Pennsylvania dispensaries in the pipeline we plan to open in the coming quarters and one additional in Illinois."

On the cultivation side, Ascend is content with current capacity. The company may look to vertical integration with a small cultivation facility in Maryland. That would set up Ascend as a vertically integrated company in all seven states.

In 2023, the name of the game for Ascend is commitment to its current market footprint.

"Right now most of our capital is being deployed into our retail builds in Ohio and Pennsylvania," Koar said. "[We're planning for] continued expansion of our footprint in our existing states to achieve scale and be top-five player in each of the states in which we operate."