Second Quarter 2018 Operational Discussion:
(in thousands of U.S. Dollars unless otherwise indicated)
Sales
Sales for the three months ended June 30, 2018 decreased by ($3,491), or (8%), to $42,039 from $45,530 for the three months ended June 30, 2017. The decrease in sales is primarily due to a decrease in production from the Company’s facilities of (13%), of which (8%) is due to the contribution of the Delta 3 greenhouse to Pure Sunfarms. The Company’s Texas facilities produced (8%) less tomatoes, partially offset by and an increase from the remaining two Delta facilities for the three months ended June 30, 2018 versus the same period in 2017.
The average selling price for tomatoes increased 1% for the three months ended June 30, 2018 versus the three months ended June 30, 2017. Cucumber pricing decreased by (6%) and pepper pricing increased by 4% in the second quarter of 2018 versus the comparable quarter in 2017.
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales for the three months ended June 30, 2018 decreased by ($1,655), or (4%), to $41,150 from $42,805 for the three months ended June 30, 2017; primarily due a decrease from the Delta 3 facility ($1,524) and a decrease of ($970) in contract sales cost, due to decreased cucumber volumes, partially offset by an increase in freight expense of $571 and labor costs at the Company’s facilities due to a shortage of labor at the Company’s Texas facilities due to increase economic activity in the Permian Basin and another increase in the B.C. minimum wage in 2018.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2018 increased by $263, or 8%, to $3,688 from $3,425 for the three months ended June 30, 2017. The increase is due to public company costs such as investor relations, legal and listing fees.
Change in Biological Asset
The net change in fair value of the biological asset for the three months ended June 30, 2018 increased by $1,557 to a gain of $856 from a loss of ($701) for the three months ended June 30, 2017. The increase in the change in value is primarily due to a higher average selling price of the biological asset in July 2018 versus the same period in 2017. The fair value of the biological asset as at June 30, 2018 was $6,920 as compared to $6,756 as at June 30, 2017 due to higher selling prices in July 2018 versus July 2017.
Share of (Loss) from Joint Venture
The Company’s share of the loss from its joint venture for the three months ended June 30, 2018 was ($104), which consists of salaries and other administrative costs, offset by the Company’s share of the JV’s biological asset of $161, as the joint venture had buds on the plant and dried bud in inventory on June 30, 2018. The value of the biological asset is the effective gross margin (revenues in excess of costs of goods) for the buds that existed on plant and in inventory on June 30, 2018.