AWH ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2024 FINANCIAL RESULTS

• Full Year 2024 Net Revenue Increased 8% Year-over-Year to $562 million
• Full Year 2024 Adjusted EBITDA¹ Increased 9% Year-over-Year to $116 million
• Second Full Year of Positive Cash from Operations and Positive Free Cash Flow²
• Company Ended Q4 2024 with $88 Million of Cash and Cash Equivalents

NEW YORK, March 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. (“AWH” or the “Company”) (CSE: AAWH.U) (OTCQX: AAWH), a vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator focused on bettering lives through cannabis, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024. Financial results are reported in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and all currency is in U.S. dollars.

Q4 2024 Business Highlights

• Maintained focus on reducing expenditures in support of the Company’s cost savings transformation initiatives, which have positively impacted both Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $30.2 million and
• Adjusted Gross Margin¹ of 41.9% in the quarter, ahead of management’s initial expectations.
• Demand for AWH’s in-house brands, including Common Goods, Simply Herb, Effin’, Ozone, and Royale, improved in the quarter and contributed to a 6% sequential increase in vertical sales as well as improved gross margin.
• The Company has continued to make solid progress in improving its balance sheet and working capital, highlighted by the $30.1 million in Free Cash Flow² that was generated in the quarter.
• AWH remains committed to implementing its densification strategy, which is expected to result in a 50% increase in store count in the medium term. The Company continues to maintain its data-backed focus on premier locations in high density population centers in its expansion efforts. Currently, the Company has ten stores in development, including three in Ohio, one in Pennsylvania, as well as four additional partner stores in Illinois, which would bring the total partners in the state to six, and two partner sites identified in New Jersey.
• Launched Effin’, an effect-based brand focused on delivering targeted effects using minor cannabinoids. The brand has been well received, quickly achieving the top spot in the edibles category at Ascend stores where it is available.
• Successfully repurchased 11 million shares of Class A common stock, representing over 5% of the then-outstanding shares. The shares were acquired at a significant discount to the closing price on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) as of December 17, 2024. This strategic move was intended to enhance shareholder value, reduce downward pressure on the stock, and drive long-term returns for shareholders.
• Announced a share buyback program, which began in January 2025. Pursuant to a normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”), the Company may repurchase up to the lesser of: (i) 10,215,690 shares of the Company’s class A common stock (“Common Shares”), representing approximately 5.0% of AWH’s then-outstanding Common Shares; and (ii) $2.25 million worth of Common Shares, in the open market. The NCIB represents another meaningful step in the Company’s ongoing efforts to deliver value to shareholders, highlighting the strong confidence of both management and the Board of Directors in the Company’s undervalued foundation and its future growth potential. Subsequent to year-end, the Company repurchased 620,500 Common Shares via the NCIB program.

The fourth quarter marked the first full quarter with our new management team in place, and I am pleased with the initial progress we made on our key initiatives – improving profitability, maximizing asset efficiency, and driving cash flow generation

Sam Brill, Chief Executive Officer

This was achieved through our team’s success in substantially completing our $30 million in annualized cost savings target, ahead of plan, and with this milestone completed we have turned our efforts to driving revenue growth. Looking ahead, we are focused on executing our densification strategy, backed by our strengthened balance sheet, that puts us in a strong position to act on exciting retail and wholesale opportunities across our footprint.

Original press release

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