SPECIAL NOTE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our security holders and to the public. This report, therefore, contains statements about future events and expectations which are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Sections 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including the statements about our plans, objectives, expectations and prospects under the heading "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." You can expect to identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "may," "might," "could," "would," "will," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "project," "expect," "intend," "seek" and other similar expressions. Any statement contained in this report that is not a statement of historical fact may be deemed to be a forward-looking statement. Although we believe that the plans, objectives, expectations and prospects reflected in or suggested by our forward-looking statements are reasonable, those statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, and we can give no assurance that our plans, objectives, expectations and prospects will be achieved.
Important factors that might cause our actual results to differ materially from
the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements are contained in the
"Risk Factors" section of and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended
Company Overview
The Company's Consumer Product Brands
Each of the Company's brands is rooted in the fundamentals of product quality,
brand authenticity and unmatched customer service.
Green Lotus Hemp ("Green Lotus") is a rapidly growing premium hemp oil products
brand that manufactures and distributes premium cannabinoid products including
tinctures, gel caps, edibles, topicals, vape cartridges, flower, pre-roll, and
beverages made from organic industrial hemp. Green Lotus has grown rapidly since
its inception in 2016 and now has a national presence in over 1,700 locations in
the
IrieCBD's ("Irie or Irie's") mission is to provide full-spectrum, natural
solutions for health and wellness. Irie is a premium-priced hemp brand,
distributing full-spectrum hemp CBD tinctures, edibles, topicals and capsules to
over 300 high-end retailers and health and wellness chains in
20 TheCompany's Mission
The Company's mission is to create authentic, meaningful brands and lead the world in the responsible manufacturing and distribution of hemp-derived cannabis consumer packaged goods.
The Company's Market Opportunity
The Company's long-term objective is to become a leading global hemp consumer packaged goods company. The Company believes that all the necessary components and capabilities are in place to accomplish this objective. The Company intends to achieve this goal by driving organic growth, as well as possible mergers and acquisitions, supported by a diverse brand and product portfolio of healthy and functional lifestyle products in leading product categories across all distribution channels through an aligned network of retailers and distribution partners.
We believe that the hemp CBD industry has the potential to disrupt the
pharmaceutical, alcohol, tobacco, textile, and food and beverages sectors.
Traditional consumer packaged companies recognize the rapid adoption of cannabis
products and have responded by forming partnerships and or have made investments
in some of the leading cannabis players in
Food and beverages that contain vitamins and other additives and ingredients to enhance health and well-being will see increased competition from products containing cannabinoids including CBD. For example, we believe that many consumers will replace traditional sports or energy drinks with cannabinoid-enhanced beverages. As an example of our ability to meet the anticipated demand for beverages, Green Lotus™ released a suite of hemp CBD carbonated beverages in Q1 of fiscal 2020.
The Company believes that its brands are well positioned to compete favorable in terms of emerging distribution opportunities at grocery chain and mass merchandisers through existing agreements and relationships. The following growth strategies describe, in part, these efforts.
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The Company's Growth Strategies
· Rebranding and creating a leading consumer packaged goods company
· Partnering with established distributors and retailers
· Focusing on operational excellence and product quality
· Establishing greater transparency and higher level of communication with the
capital markets
· Implementing corporate restructuring plan
Rebranding and Creating a
Partnering with established distributors and retailers. As the industry evolves,
the distribution of hemp products has increasingly mirrored the distribution of
wellness and other consumer packaged goods. To efficiently and rapidly increase
our scale, the Company has formed partnerships with established distributors and
leading regional and national retailers to expand our domestic footprint.
Through these partnerships and an aggressive marketing outreach, the Company has
gained traction with some of the largest distributors and leading traditional
retailers in
· Retail - scale internal sales force while securing deals with established distributors to reach growth segments. · E-Commerce - the Company is augmenting its internal team and working with media, analytics, and public relations firms who specialize in cannabis to enhance our brand awareness and drive online sales. · Medical - establish brand credibility through partnerships with companies collecting patient data and medical practitioners, including participation in prospective clinical trials with Canadian company CB2 Insights utilizing Green Lotus hemp CBD soft gel capsules. The Company's participation in this study was publicly announcedDecember 17, 2019 .
Focusing on operational excellence and product quality. To support the Company's
robust sales pipeline in
Establishing greater transparency and higher level of communication with the capital markets. In Q3 of fiscal 2019, the Company hired a leading investor relations and public relations firm in the cannabis space to assist in communications and to support the underserved and much needed investor relations functions at the Company. The Company intends to aggressively market its story to both investors and retail consumers.
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Implementing corporate restructuring plan. Following the Acquisition of Green
Lotus, the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") approved a strategic
plan with the following objectives: (a) to transform the Company into a leading
consumer packaged goods hemp CBD company with a concentration on the Green Lotus
and IrieCBD brands in
The following actions have been executed or are underway as part of the Company's Board-approved strategic review and restructuring plan:
· IrieCBD Operations: Immediately following theECS Labs LLC acquisition, all IrieCBD manufacturing and distribution operations inOakland, California , were transitioned toECS Labs LLC facilities inDallas, Texas . The IrieCBD brand has already begun realizing the benefit ofECS Labs LLC experienced internal sales team, gaining access to multiple medium-to-large accounts throughout theU.S. Staff redundancies have been addressed, and full staff integration was completed in Q4 of fiscal 2019. · Leafceuticals Europe: The Company exercised its option to terminate its Spanish greenhouse lease inMay 2019 , eliminating its remaining$4.3 million of payment obligations. In 2018, Leafceuticals Europe S.L.U. ("Europe"), a subsidiary of the Company, purchased a 430,000 sq. ft. indoor grow facility located inValencia, Spain . Consistent with the Company's plan to more efficiently leverage resources and focus capital on building its family of brands inNorth America , as ofJune 2019 , all operations of Leafceuticals Europe ceased. · Tierra Science Global:Tierra Science Global, LLC ("Tierra") was acquired in 2018 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Tierra offers health care supplements and wellness products through direct sales teams inAsia ,Europe , andNorth America . Tierra was sold back to its original owners inJuly 2019 . · Hempology: Hempology was developed internally as a product brand, with a focus on all-natural and locally sourced ingredients. Its portfolio included organic herbal vapeables, tinctures, topicals, and edibles. The Board determined that further investment in Hempology was unnecessary given the line of organic products offered byECS Labs, LLC . To focus on the Company's core brands, the Company sold Hempology toSan Francisco Distribution Company onJuly 25, 2019 . ·Leafceuticals Inc. (US): The Company has sold all extraction equipment domiciled in itsLas Vegas facility and successfully vacated the space at the end of calendar 2019. The Company intends to transfer the remaining Leafceuticals assets to another wholly owned, operating subsidiary of the Company in Q1 of calendar 2020. Upon completion of this transfer, Leafceuticals will be dissolved, in accordance with the previously approved Board strategy. ·Cicero Transact Group, LLC andCicero Platform, LLC : The Company's stake in Cicero was sold toSinclair Inc. effectiveJune 27, 2019 . In 2018, the Company purchased a minority stake in: (1)Cicero Transact Group, LLC , an online business-to-business deal platform, and (2)Cicero Platform Group LLC , a crypto-focused company. The Board determined this was a non-core asset. The Company's stake in both Cicero entities was sold for$145,000 in July of 2019. · AccuVape: OnOctober 10, 2019 , the Company and the former owner of AccuVape entered into a settlement agreement regarding the disposition of AccuVape. As of the date of this filing, all settlement agreement obligations have been satisfied. The Company intends to dissolve AccuVape in calendar year 2020. ·Media Properties : FreedomLeaf.com is the online website for the Company's print publication, "Freedom Leaf Magazine ." The Board has determined that this publication is inconsistent with the Company's strategy of developing leading consumer product brands and is a non-core asset. The Company is engaged in discussions with several interested parties, and the Company expects a sale of these properties by the end of calendar 2020.
The Company is an audited and reporting publicly traded company under the symbol
(OTC Pink: FRLF) with corporate headquarters located at
23 Results of Operations
For the three months ended
Revenues
Our revenue was
Revenues: September 30, September 30, 2019 2018 Magazine related $ - $ 472 Product sales 2,121,508 608,186 Total$ 2,121,508 $ 608,658
Comparative results for the quarter reflect the consummation of our acquisition
of
Operating Expenses
Cost of goods sold ("COGS") were
Cost of goods sold
2019 2018 Magazine related $ -$ 14,053 Product sales 659,737 255,072 Total$ 659,737 $ 269,125
The increase in direct costs reflects that the Company's revenues now derive from the sale of products.
For the three months ended
24 Other income (expenses)
Other income (expense) was
Net loss attributable to common shareholders was
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Liquidity and Capital Resources during the three months ended
As of
The Company satisfied
The Company generated (used) cash from investing activities of
The Company had cash provided by financing activities of
The Company anticipates raising funds to pay for our expenses in the second half of calendar year 2020. We may borrow money from shareholders or issue debt or equity or enter into a strategic arrangement with a third party. There can be no assurance that additional capital will be available to us.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements and the factors within it, have been
prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets
and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business and the
ability of the Company to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of
time. The Company sustained net losses attributable to common shareholders of
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In recent months, the Company has begun to execute its strategy of selling or
shutting down non-core and non-accretive business segments and consolidating the
Company's manufacturing, sales, distribution and corporate functions into the
newly acquired
The Company's continuation as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to
generate revenues and its ability to continue receiving investment capital and
loans from third parties to sustain its current level of operations. See Note 11
- Subsequent Events, provides information regarding a
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We currently have no off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future material effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in
See Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations" and Note 1, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies"
in our audited financial statements for the year ended
Reclassification of Certain Expenses
The results of operations as of
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