Beleaguered cannabis producer also names new CEO in bid for reinstatement
CannTrust announced last Friday it had submitted documents to Health Canada with the goal of having the licence for their Fenwick grow-op facility reinstated. A statement from the company said that all necessary “remediation activity” at the site was complete.
The news came as the beleaguered cannabis producer appointed a new CEO. Greg Guyatt will replace interim honcho Robert Marcovitch, who led the organization through the corporate tailspin that began when a former employee blew the whistle on illegal growing last summer, costing the company’s top two executives their jobs at the time, and those of hundreds of other employees later.
With cannabis production halted on Health Canada orders at CannTrust’s Fenwick and Vaughan facilities in September, it’s believed the company has brought in little revenue during that time. The firm announced in October that it was forced to destroy $77 million dollars worth of cannabis inventory, given that much of it was grown illegally.
Still, CannTrust said Friday that it’s sitting on cash reserves of $167 million dollars. It also announced the company had been granted a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing extension until April 15 — after which it must file financial reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The fact that CannTrust stock has lost about 90 percent of its value in less than a year prompted a de-listing warning from the NYSE in December. Shares on the NYSE must sustain a price of one dollar US or above; CannTrust closed Friday’s Wall Street session at 84 cents. On the Toronto Stock Exchange, it closed last week at $1.08 Canadian.
