In this week's "Rising High," The Fly's recurring series focused on cannabis and psychedelic stock news, The Fly looks back on cannabis earnings, rightsizing measures and an international export.

CANNABIS EARNINGS: Aleafia Health (ALEAF) reported third quarter earnings on Monday, posting net revenue of C$10.79M, which compared to net revenue of C$8.76M for the same period last year. The company also reported adjusted EBITDA of C$0.4M for the quarter.

“Aleafia Health has developed a relentlessly focused cost containment and profitability culture, while continuing to introduce highly innovative, sought-after and in-demand products while adding to adult-use revenues nationally in Canada,” said CEO Tricia Symmes. “With ongoing and completed cost rationalizations and the continued growth and popularity of our branded adult-use portfolio, anchored by Divvy, we remain confident the company can reach our goals of scalable profitability while attaining a top 10 standing in our markets in the next fiscal year.”

On Tuesday, India Globalization Capital (IGC) reported a Q3 loss per share of (4c) on revenue of $332,000, which compared to a loss per share of (5c) on revenue of $142,000 for the same period last year.

CEO Ram Mukunda commented, “We are delighted with the progress made during this quarter, highlighted by the commencement of the Phase 2 clinical trial for our drug candidate IGC-AD1 for the safety and efficacy of the drug on agitation in dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. This represents a milestone in our progress towards gaining FDA approval for IGC-AD1, which we believe has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease as the first and only low-dose, natural, THC-based candidate currently undergoing FDA trials. Moreover, our sales of natural products, which include gummies and pain relief creams, are seeing increased traction in the market. We’re encouraged by our third quarter results and look forward to driving continued expansion through the balance of fiscal 2023.”

SNDL RIGHTSIZING ALBERTA CANNABIS OPERATIONS: SNDL (SNDL) announced Monday changes to its operations through a rightsizing of cannabis cultivation in Olds, Alberta, in an effort to focus the facility on premium products and brands. The company said the Valens Company transaction has accelerated the need to optimize and rationalize SNDL's manufacturing and operational footprint to better address market saturation and oversupply.

"We have made the difficult decision to materially reduce staffing and activity levels in Olds, Alberta, in order to improve the efficiency of our operations as one of Canada's largest adult-use cannabis manufacturers," said CEO Zach George. “With the Olds facility already in operation when I joined SNDL, I am proud of the cultivation capabilities and high-quality flower that our teams have developed and produced. We estimate that more than 1B grams of flower are sitting in Canadian vaults today. Oversupply and excess capacity have resulted in high-quality flower being widely available and sold well below the marginal cost of production. Using available and existing biomass, we will be better equipped to leverage the current pricing environment to materially improve our cost of goods sold and margins. We are taking a proactive approach with our cultivation and manufacturing strategy to evolve with the market while continuing to deliver exceptional products across a variety of product and price segments."

SNDL has initiated a headcount reduction of approximately 85 employees at the Olds facility as a part of a larger phased cost savings program that is expected to deliver close to $9M in savings across labor and operational costs. The cost savings initiatives are expected to position SNDL to exceed its previously announced integration savings target as a result of the acquisition of Valens. SNDL expects to complete most of this transition within the first quarter of 2023, and the cost savings will be immediately accretive to adjusted EBITDA.

DELTA 9 COMPLETES CANNABIS EXPORT TO AUSTRALIA: Delta 9 Cannabis (DLTNF) announced Monday that it has completed its first shipment of bulk dried cannabis flower to a customer in Australia, marking the company’s first export of dried cannabis flower material to an international market. The company has also received seven additional export permits from Health Canada and intends to complete multiple shipments of dried cannabis flower and cannabis extracts to the Australian market in the first and second quarter of 2023. The shipments are anticipated to include approximately 100 Kg of dried cannabis flower material and 6 Kg of cannabis distillate.

INTERCURE FILES SUIT AGAINST CANN PHARMACEUTICALS: InterCure (INCR) announced Tuesday that it filed a lawsuit against Cann Pharmaceuticals dba Better to recover funds loaned and invested in the course of their dealings in connection with the merger agreement. The company had previously disclosed the merger with Better and its failure in prior press releases. InterCure and Better had initially agreed to merge, subject to certain closing conditions, which also included an outside date of January 31, 2023. However, as previously disclosed in the company’s public filings, fundamental disagreements arose, which ultimately led to the termination of the agreement on the outside date, as the closing conditions had not been satisfied prior thereto. During the negotiations and after the merger agreement was executed, InterCure extended loans to Better and provided funding and cultivation services to it, in light of the parties’ cooperation. As previously reported, the merger agreement was terminated, leaving the company to seek to recover the funds it had loaned and extended to Better.

InterCure said, “Despite repeated efforts to recover such loans, funding and cultivation services, Better has refused to repay the company, leaving it with no choice but to file a lawsuit against Better to enforce its rights to the amounts loaned to Better.”

AYR WELLNESS APPOINTS CEO: Ayr Wellness (AYRWF) announced Monday that Jonathan Sandelman has transitioned to Executive Chair, where he will continue to serve the company’s Board of Directors, and David Goubert, current President of Ayr, has assumed the role of President and CEO.

Sandelman commented, “David is a proven leader of people and large organizations, with a track record of driving positive organizational change. In his time so far at Ayr, he has brought a fresh set of eyes to our organization and processes and has set us on the path to optimizing the business and investing in projects that will result in our long-term success.”

CANNABIS/PSYCHEDELIC STOCKS: Publicly-traded companies in the space include Acreage Holdings (ACRHF), Atai Life Sciences (ATAI), Audacious (AUSAF), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), Avant Brands (AVTBF), Awakn Life Sciences (AWKNF), Body and Mind (BMMJ), Cannara Biotech (LOVFF), Canopy Growth (CGC), Chicago Atlantic (REFI), Clever Leaves (CLVR), Columbia Care (CCHWF), Compass Pathways (CMPS), CordovaCann (LVRLF), Cresco Labs (CRLBF), Cronos (CRON), Curaleaf (CURLF), CURE Pharmaceutical (CURR), CV Sciences (CVSI), Cybin (CYBN), Delic Holdings (DELCF), Entourage Health (ETRGF), Fire & Flower (FFLWF), Flora Growth (FLGC), Flowr Corporation (FLWPF), General Cannabis (CANN), BZAM (BZAMF),Greenlane (GNLN), Green Thumb (GTBIF), Goodness Growth (GDNSF), GrowGeneration (GRWG), Hemp (HEMP), HEXO (HEXO), High Tide (HITI), Indiva (NDVAF), Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR), IM Cannabis (IMCC), Wellbeing Digital (KONEF), Khiron Life Sciences (KHRNF), Lowell Farms (LOWLF), Lotus Ventures (LTTSF), MediPharm Labs (MEDIF), MedMen (MMNFF), NewLake Capital (NLCP), Organigram (OGI), Planet 13 (PLNHF), Reunion Neuroscience (REUN), Revitalist (RVLWF), RIV Capital (CNPOF), Relmada (RLMD), RYAH Group (RYAHF), Safe Harbor (SHFS), SLANG Worldwide (SLGWF), Small Pharma (DMTTF), Sproutly (SRUTF), Skye Biosciences (SKYE), Stem Holdings (STMH), Sunniva (SNNVF), TerrAscend (TRSSF), Tetra Bio-Pharma (TBPMF), Tilray (TLRY), Tryp Therapeutics (TRYPF), Trulieve (TCNNF), Verano (VRNOF), Village Farms (VFF), Wesana Health (WSNAF), Zynerba (ZYNE) and 4Front Ventures (FFNTF).