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Red or black: A roundup of cannabis financial news

Published on August 6, 2026 by Pat Bulmer

Photo: Contributed

Cannabis financial news: Avant cuts costs with Kelowna lighting retrofit; Cannara expands national market share; Organigram says Sanity acquisition on track

Cannabis looks better under new lights

Avant Brands has completed a lighting retrofit of its Flowr Group cultivation facility in Kelowna, BC.

Cost of the project was $1.93 million — less than the $2.7 million original estimate.

“The project replaced traditional high-pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures with energy-efficient LED lighting across 100% of flower rooms, supported by funding from a Government of British Columbia energy efficiency incentive program,” Avant said in a news release.

The installation covers the entire 80,000-square-foot facility.

Work began in December with room-by-room above-canopy installations. Under-canopy lighting work began in February with controls commissioned by March.

The company will use less electricity and emit up to 36 fewer tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, the release said.

“The transition to full-spectrum, above- and below-canopy LEDs not only dramatically lowers our utility and HVAC expenses, it also ensures we continue pushing the boundaries of premium cannabinoid and terpene production,” said CEO Norton Singhavon.

Avant bought Flowr Group in 2023 in a $5 million deal. In a separate announcement this month, Avant said it has shaved millions off of its debts.

“In under 24 months, we have eliminated nearly 90% of our total outstanding debt, reducing $8.1 million in total interest-bearing debt (from Q3 2024), to $1.03 million … Avant is now leaner and well positioned for its next phase of profitable, sustainable growth,” the company said in a second-quarter financial statement.

Cannabis production was down 14% in the quarter to 2,850 kilograms, largely because of the renovations at Flowr. Cannabis sales totalled 4,576 kg.

Recreational cannabis revenue is up 34% this year, the company said, boasting of top market shares for its Blk Mkt and Tenzo brands in Ontario.

“Blk Mkt leads Ontario’s premium flower category ($8.60/gram and above), ranking as the #1 brand by total sales dollars during the quarter.” Blk Mkt is also No. 1 in single-unit pre-rolls above one gram. Tenzo is No. 2 in 14-gram whole flower and is the No. 1 “best-selling multi-pack milled product with its Fun Trip offering.”

Some of the financial numbers:

— Gross revenue was $9.2 million (down 5% from the same quarter a year ago)

— Net revenue: $7.8 million (down 8%)

— Recreational revenue: $3.8 million (up 31%).

— Export wholesale revenue: $2.9 million (down 29%)

— Domestic wholesale revenue: $1.1 million (down 16%)

— Gross profit increased to $0.2 million, compared to a gross loss of $0.2 million in Q2 2025.

— Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was negative $1.2 million, compared to positive $1.2 million in Q2 2025. That was due to the lower revenues from the Flowr shutdown and Health Canada’s annual regulatory fee.

Year-to-date numbers compared to a year ago:

— Gross revenue: $17.5 million (down 10%)

— Net revenue: $14.9 million (down 13%)

— Recreational revenue: $7.6 million (up 34%)

— Export wholesale revenue: $4.4 million (down 49%)

— Domestic wholesale revenue: $2.7 million (up 21%)

— Gross profit decreased to $0.3 million, from $1.4 million in 2025.

— Adjusted EBITDA was negative $1.9 million, compared to positive $2.9 million in 2025.

The company’s cash balance increased to $3.3 million as of May 31.

Avant operates production facilities across the country.

Cannara going national

Quebec’s Cannara Cannabis is increasing its presence on the national retail scene, its latest financial report reveals.

The company now accounts for 3.3% of total national cannabis product listings, a slow but steady climb from previous quarters, while estimated national retail market share remained at 4.4%.

Cannara has a 14% market share in its own province.

The company boasts 49,000 “points of distribution.” Companies use points of distribution as a measure of how well their products are penetrating the market. Essentially, it’s number of places the company’s products are sold multiplied by the number of products.

Cannara reported gross revenues were up to $44.1 million — a 16% rise over the same quarter a year ago. Net income was $4.8 million in Q3 2026, compared to $4.1 million in Q3 2025;

Adjusted EBITDA increased by 11% to $8.5 million in Q3 2026;

“We remained profitable with net income of $4.8 million  and generated $5.7 million in operating cash flow,” said COO Nicholas Sosiak.

Through three quarters, gross revenues before excise taxes rose to $123.7 million compared to $109.5 million last year. EBITDA increased by 13% to $23.3 million. Net income was down to $7.5 million from $9.8 million at the same point last year.

“Cannara continued to advance its innovation strategy in Q3 2026, with new launches across dried flower, pre-rolls, infused pre-rolls, vapes, concentrates and CBD formats.

“The quarter was highlighted by the continued scaling of Nugz Flavour Bomb, which expanded across infused pre- roll and liquid diamond vape formats and now ranks among Ontario’s top three best-selling infused pre-roll multipacks,” the report said.

In the greenhouse, Cannara “activated two additional grow zones at the Valleyfield (Quebec) facility … bringing total zones in production to 14 of 24 and increasing current annualized production capacity to over 58,000 kg. The company expects to activate four additional grow zones in fiscal 2027, increasing projected annual production capacity to  approximately 75,000 kg.”

In July, then company secured an agreement with Blue River of Florida, granting Cannara exclusive Canadian rights to manufacture and commercialize Ampersand infused live rosin ingestible products

Cannara also reached an agreement with Curaleaf International to move Cannara’s cannabis into international markets.

Curaleaf will help Cannara get EU-GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certification for its Valleyfield site. In the interim, all cannabis  supplied under the agreement will be dried and processed at Curaleaf’s certified facility in Canada.

Curaleaf, which is American-based but Canadian-registered, has facilities and distribution arms in Europe, Canada and Australia.

“The agreement, if fully realized, has a potential aggregate contract value of up to C$21 million,” Cannara said.

Organigram plan is working

Everything is going according to plan since Canadian cannabis giant Organigram bought Germany’s Sanity Group earlier this year.

Ahead of a quarterly financial statement due Aug. 11, Organigram offered a reassuring preview with a July 20 statement.

“Sanity’s initial performance has been consistent with our expectations at the time of acquisition, while our Canadian business continues to demonstrate resilience through market leadership,

improving category trends and disciplined execution,” said CEO James Yamanaka. “Since the closing of the acquisition on April 15, 2026, Sanity has maintained an average market share of

approximately 10% in Germany.”

In Canada, Organigram says it continues to hold the No. 1 market share in flower and vapes (12.5% and 14.5% market share, respectively) and No. 2 in pre-rolls (7.3%).

Organigram has an 11.1% share of the Canadian recreational market overall, the company said.