Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (TRUL) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Trulieve Cannabis Corporation Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Jason, and I will be your conference operator today. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. And I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Christine Hersey, Vice President of Investor Relations for Trulieve. You may begin.

Thank you. Good morning, and thank you for joining us. During today's call, Kim Rivers, Chief Executive Officer; and Ryan Blust, interim Chief Financial Officer, will deliver prepared remarks on the financial performance and outlook for Trulieve. Following the prepared remarks, we will open the call to questions. Steve White, President, will also be available to answer questions. This morning, we reported second quarter 2023 results. A copy of our earnings press release and PowerPoint presentation may be found on the Investor Relations section of our website, www.trulieve.com. An archived version of today's conference call will be available on our website later today. As a reminder, statements made during this call that are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements, and these statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our historical results or from our forecast. Including the risks and uncertainties described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Item 1A Risk Factors of the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. Although the company may voluntarily do so from time to time, it undertakes no commitment to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. During the call, management will also discuss certain financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with the United States generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP. We generally refer to these as non-GAAP financial measures. These measures should not be considered an isolation or as a substitute for Trulieve's financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in our earnings press release, that is an exhibit to our current report on Form 8-K that we furnished to the SEC today and can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website. Lastly, at times during our prepared remarks or responses to your questions, we may offer metrics to provide greater insight into the dynamics of our business or our financial results. Please be advised that we may or may not continue to provide these additional details in the future. I'll now turn the call over to our CEO, Kim Rivers.

Thank you, Christine. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. First, I'd like to welcome our Interim Chief Financial Officer, Ryan Blust, for the call. Brian joined Trulieve 5 years ago and has been an integral part of our team. Turning now to our results. Demand for legal cannabis remains strong. In the first half of the year, Trulieve realized record traffic and units sold, proving the durability of our products and loyal customer base. Throughout this economic cycle, we have successfully pivoted and adapted our business to meet evolving customer preferences and strengthen our competitive position. Back in March, we outlined our plan to streamline operations, while simultaneously making targeted investments in long-term growth initiatives. Measures taken to improve cash flow from the core business, and focus resources towards unlocking potential in attractive markets are reflected in second-quarter results. Recent wins include fully planting our new 750,000-square-foot indoor cultivation facility in Florida, opening the first medical dispensaries in Georgia, opening our first dispensary in Ohio, launching recreational sales in Maryland and advancing the Florida adult e-filed initiative. Our team has done a phenomenal job executing on our plan, and we are carrying this momentum through the remainder of the year. Second quarter revenue of $282 million is in line with our guidance. Excluding deferred revenue, retail revenue increased sequentially by $3 million driven by increased traffic and volume, partly offset by price compression. In Florida, volume increased by 21% in oil products and 9% in flower with truly selling 130% more oil and 150% more flower per store in the second quarter than the average competitor, contributing to higher revenue. Gross margin of 50% declined by 2%, primarily due to the reclassification of idle capacity costs from SG&A to COGS resulting in tax savings of $4 million annually. Building upon the progress made in the first quarter, both GAAP and adjusted SG&A expenses were further reduced this quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $79 million or 28% margin, representing a 1% increase in our 22nd consecutive profitable quarter. Across our platform, actions to bolster our business resilience and solidify our industry-leading position are gaining traction. Truly pays taxes owed on time, which is a differentiating factor among peers. Year-to-date, tax-adjusted cash flow from operations was $98 million. During the second half of the year, we expect to realize additional cost savings as optimization efforts benefit financial results. In June, we exited additional California retail locations and began to wind down operations in Massachusetts to preserve cash and direct resources towards more attractive markets. In Florida, we have mothballed legacy production capacity to offset greater output from our new facility, leading to increased efficiencies and ultimately, lower costs. In Arizona, additional steps to streamline production and distribution to our retail network are expected to yield greater efficiencies and support the relaunch of several branded products later this year. Capacity utilization alignment across other markets to match current demand, combined with higher sales of internal products are expected to further reduce core business expenses. Trulieve sells the highest volume of branded products through branded retail in the U.S., reaching 11.6 million units of internal products sold during the second quarter. With the largest retail network of 186 dispensaries supported by over 4 million square feet of production capacity, we are able to realize the benefits of scaled vertical integration. Large-scale production and distribution of branded products remains a distinct competitive advantage for Trulieve, resulting in more direct-to-consumer contact, greater efficiencies and lower operating costs. The flexibility to increase throughput to meet spikes in demand is an important differentiator that allows us to capture the upside during peak traffic. The power of our platform was on display during record traffic on 420 and 710 holidays, up 10% and 54%, respectively, compared to last year. Inventory drawdown of $22 million in the second quarter contributed to improved cash generation. Throughout the back half of the year, we anticipate further inventory reduction as we approach normalized steady-state inventory levels. Our new 750,000-square-foot indoor cultivation facility in Jefferson County is an important strategic asset. Once production has dialed in, we expect to achieve lower production costs in Florida, which we can use to buffer margins and provide additional savings for our loyal customers. Cash generation should improve in the second half with lower expenses and conversion of inventory to cash. As such, we remain on track to achieve our target of $100 million in operating cash flow and generate positive free cash flow this year. Cash at quarter end was $160 million. Trulieve has one of the highest cash balances in legal cannabis and additional unencumbered real estate that can be mortgaged at attractive rates. In the current environment, our cash on hand, cash generation and access to capital, place Trulieve among top-tier operators and provide significant flexibility to address our near-term debt obligations. Trulieve remains the top cannabis retailer in the world, anchored by industry-leading retail positions in Arizona, Florida and Pennsylvania. In the second quarter, we added new retail locations in Arizona and Pennsylvania, relocated 1 store in Florida and opened the first medical dispensaries in Georgia. While it is still early days, we expect our business to grow alongside the program as new patients enroll and eventually new qualifying conditions and form factors are permitted. As one of only 2 operators in Georgia, we are eagerly awaiting new rules to allow registered pharmacies to distribute cannabis products across the state. In July, we opened our first medical dispensary in Ohio, which has 370,000 registered medical patients. In November 2023, voters in Ohio will have the opportunity to decide whether to permit adult-use sales. With almost 12 million residents, we estimate the market to reach $2 billion in annual sales. In Maryland, recreational sales launched on July 1. Trulieve commemorated the occasion with celebrations and specialty products, including home growth loans, product bundles and Blue Crab push flower. As expected, we realized a meaningful increase in traffic and sales at our 3 dispensaries alongside an uptick in our wholesale business. Traffic increased 200% and sales per dispensary increased 150% during the first month of recreational sales. Our team did a phenomenal job maintaining customer service standards with a sharp increase in traffic. With the addition of Maryland, we now operate in 5 adult East States, providing an opportunity to learn more about customer preferences and consumption patterns. Currently, 161 dispensaries or 87% of our retail network serve only medical patients. We expect to significantly grow our business as more of our markets expand to include adult-use with scaled operations in attractive markets with meaningful adult-use catalysts such as Florida and Pennsylvania, we are uniquely situated to increase our loyal customer base and serve a broader audience. In Florida, the campaign for adult-use has surpassed the required threshold with over 1 million validated signatures. The Florida Supreme Court has received briefs regarding the citizens initiative. As a reminder, the court can issue an opinion anytime between now and April 2024. With 22 million residents and $138 million annual tourist visits, we believe Florida will be a tough legal cannabis market, reaching $6 billion in annual revenue. Given our 40% market share, sale and service and ability to quickly flex up production with minimum investment, Trulieve is ready to expand its leadership position with this opportunity. In Pennsylvania, a Bipartisan Bill to establish ability sales was introduced last month. We remain optimistic that enactment of adult-use programs in nearby states such as Maryland, New Jersey and New York will spur action in the Keystone State. With almost 13 million residents, we believe the Pennsylvania market could reach over $4 billion in annual sales with adult-use consumption. In the meantime, we continue to optimize production and retail operations. In the second quarter, we further refined our production mix, gained new product approvals and opened a new affiliate in dispensary. The percentage of our own branded products sold through our affiliated retail network reached 50% in the quarter, aided by the popularity of Modern Flower and Role 1. We plan to further increase sales of branded products through branded retail in Pennsylvania. Our retail-led strategy enables close contact with the customer and the ability to define and control the customer experience from end to end. By providing the right products in the right place at the right price consistently, we're able to grow a large loyal customer base and build lasting brand equity. Customer retention data shows the efficacy of our approach with 64% of customers company-wide and 74% in medical-only markets returning in the second quarter. Our refreshed website is slated to launch before year-end, improving customer satisfaction as we approach the busy holiday period. As our customer base and retail network grow, we are enhancing our data analytics platform and improving customer communications. In the Southeast, we are utilizing predictive modeling tools and AI-driven recommendations for product affinity and timing of outreach. At the same time, we are further defining bio personas to improve targeted messaging with our customer data platform, paid media, social media and search engine optimization tools. Investments in systems and infrastructure to support future growth are ongoing. Demand for legal cannabis remains strong, and we expect to realize meaningful increases in traffic and unit growth over the next few years as we enter new markets and catalysts come to fruition. In preparation, we are adding on the atonal elements required to support additional scale and significant volume expansion. Balancing increased demand while maintaining customer service standards requires both planning and insight into evolving customer preferences. We have expanded our ability to gather customer feedback and are utilizing the data to inform our processes and customer approach alongside data collection to inform product development and demand planning. These tools will not truly to garner a competitive edge today while preparing for a future defined by integrated comers. With meaningful catalysts on the horizon, our team remains focused on cash preservation and generation as we expand infrastructure required to manage accelerated growth. With our proven ability to operate at scale, adapt to evolving landscapes and strong balance sheet, I am fully confident in our team and competitive positioning. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ryan.

Thank you, Kim, and good morning, everyone. Second quarter revenue of $282 million declined 1% sequentially. Excluding deferred revenue, retail revenue increased sequentially by $3 million driven by increased traffic and volume, partially offset by price compression. Second quarter GAAP gross profit was $142 million or 50% margin, representing a 2% decline quarter-over-quarter. Gross margin reflects the reclassification of idle capacity charges from SG&A to COGS, resulting in a tax savings of $2 million this quarter and $4 million annually. Gross margin will continue to fluctuate quarter-to-quarter depending on product and market mix, inventory sell-through, promotional activity and idle capacity costs. SG&A expenses in the quarter were $96 million or 34% of revenue compared to $100 million during the first quarter. Adjusted SG&A was $81 million or 29% of revenue compared to $87 million or 30% in the first quarter. Reduced SG&A expenses are the result of ongoing efforts to lower core business expenses, including consolidation of production capacity and elimination of redundancies. Second quarter net loss was $404 million compared to a net loss of $64 million in the first quarter. Second quarter loss per share was $2.14 compared to a loss of $0.34 in the first quarter. Net loss includes non-cash impairment charges of $64 million following the strategic decision to wind down operations in Massachusetts and a $308 million goodwill impairment triggered by the recent stock performance. No impairments were identified based on management's forecast. Excluding nonrecurring charges, second-quarter loss per share would have been $0.08 compared to a loss of $0.09 in the first quarter. Second quarter adjusted EBITDA was $79 million or 28% compared to $78 million or 27% during the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA reflects optimization efforts to maximize cash preservation and generation. We ended the quarter with $160 million in cash. During the second quarter, cash consumed and operations totaled $23 million, inclusive of 2 tax payments and semi-annual interest payments. Normalized for tax and interest payments, cash generation improved by $25 million in the second quarter. The inventory was reduced by $22 million in the second quarter as a result of targeted efforts to wind down specific volumes and product categories. During the remainder of 2023, we expect to realize improved operating cash flow through a combination of expense and inventory reduction. Capital expenditures totaled $11 million in the second quarter. We expect 2023 capital expenditures will be at least 50% lower than 2022. We plan to open 50 to 20 new dispensaries and relocate up to 6 stores this year. Factoring in results quarter-to-date, we anticipate third-quarter revenue will be down mid-single digits sequentially. The adult-use launch in Maryland and strong traffic around the 710 holiday positively contributed to July performance. At the same time, seasonal trends, including extreme heat in our corner certain markets and wallet pressure on consumer behavior are influencing top-line results. Steps to streamline operations and reduce costs are expected to benefit margins while inventory reduction initiatives will impact gross margin. Overall, our initiatives are yielding positive results, and we look forward to reporting further progress as we continue to execute on our plan this year. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Kim.

Thanks, Ryan. U.S. legal cannabis remains a compelling investment opportunity with significant long-term upside potential. Every year, cannabis becomes more mainstream as access to legal products expand through state programs. As highlighted during the whole story with Anderson Cooper on CNN this week, the 55-plus community is the fastest-growing group of cannabis consumers in the U.S. During the program, Dr. Sanjay Gupta visited a Florida Trulieve store with a 94-year-old patient who had found relief from cannabis as a replacement for pharmaceuticals. Demand for cannabis remains strong, and industry analyst forecast revenue will nearly triple by 2030 to over $70 billion in annual sales. Trulieve as an industry leader, poised and ready to define the future of cannabis as this market grows. With the leading retail network of over 4 million square feet of capacity and access to capital, we are further solidifying our position as numerous federal and state-level catalysts come to fruition. Although the timing remains difficult to predict, federal reform through legislative action or rescheduling of cannabis is on the horizon. We remain optimistic that change is inevitable. In the meantime, states continue to enact medical and adult-use cannabis programs through Citizen's initiatives and legislation, expanding the legal market and spurring greater adoption and acceptance. 2 of our largest markets, Florida and Pennsylvania, have the potential to launch adults programs in the next couple of years. Trulieve has been a phenomenal success story with tremendous growth, and I'm fully confident our best days are still to come. Thank you for joining us today. And as I always say, onward.

At this time, Kim Rivers, Ryan Blust and Steve White will be available to answer any questions. Operator, please open up the call for questions.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Derek Dley from Canaccord.

Congrats on the strong quarter. My first question is just on the Jefferson Park facility. Can you just talk about how the ramp-up there is progressing? I think last quarter, you mentioned that it was performing well, almost too well, and that led to bit of an inventory build-up. But this quarter, we saw some strong movement on that inventory wind down. So just perhaps, how is the balance of the ramp-up of JeffCo progressing? And how should we think about that in terms of inventory and margins over the next couple of quarters?

Sure. So JeffCo, of course, is a strategic asset for us. It's 750,000 square feet. We're very excited that now and has officially been fully planted and is in full utilization. And that means that the second phase is now in operation. The first phase continues to perform well. We, again, had and this quarter was spent ramping the second phase and getting that into production. Any time you ramp a new phase of a facility of that size and we'll continue to dial it in, as we've mentioned through the rest of the year. So I wouldn't expect a straight line on performance there, but we do continue to have expectations that, that facility will meet, if not exceed our model as it relates to performance there. And then ultimately, what that should do and what we should see to begin to come through and pull through the numbers from the first phase in the back half of the year. And again, in that second phase as we enter 2024 is a lower production costs, which, of course, will impact margins. But of course, with margins, we've got a multitude of factors and lower production costs for sure, but we have to also consider the inventory wind-down and what we're doing there strategically to generate cash. And then, of course, ultimately, right product mix matters and as we look at consumer demand. So all 3 of those will continue to interplay as we're continuing the rest of 2023.

Okay. And then just following up just on that inventory wind down. I think you mentioned $24 million for the year, $22 million in Q2. Should we expect that to continue at that same rate over the balance of the year? And do you anticipate by year-end being in the inventory position that you're targeting?

Yes. We're certainly continuing to normalize inventory levels. And so certainly, you can expect additional inventory wind down to occur throughout the rest of this year. And we are working to get to a normalized inventory rate exiting this year. Will it be exactly on 12/31? I don't know that I can say that precisely, again because it always has to come back to the consumer. Right in that product mix and what the consumer types in price to the consumer -- where the consumer demand is. That being said, I will say that the strategies that we've deployed are resonating as evidenced by this quarter. And really, it's pretty exciting for us and the timing just works out that with this inventory effort. We've really had an opportunity to experiment with some different strategies and with some different product offerings and again, utilizing our data insights because the consumer patterns have shifted over the last 12 months. And so to really be able and to have the flexibility to have products and value propositions to meet that current consumer profile, which will, we think, put us in a strategic advantage as we exit this inventory wind-down period to better align our product mix and our portfolio offerings with these consumer preferences. So it's really been, of course, certainly a source of interim cash generation, but also strategic asset is the way we're looking at it, as we're able to better align our go-forward plan with consumer preferences.

The next question comes from Matt McGinley from Needham.

Thank you. With the comments around the mid-single-digit revenue decline in the third quarter, it sounded like that was more Arizona with the heat-related comment. Was that assumption a little bit more broad-based, and that you're seeing weakness in other markets as well? And as far as -- I know it's a little far out to project what the fourth quarter would look like, and you may have more pricing compression. But if that is primarily Arizona related, would you expect to see an acceleration in the trend and better revenue in the fourth quarter compared to what you expect to see in the third?

Yes. So Matt, I don't know if you looked at the weather in Florida either, but we're pretty hot down here right now as well. But that being said, I think the comments around Florida, obviously, demand was really strong in Q2 in Florida specifically. And obviously, you all have OMMU data there. Price pressure, I think, in Florida is more the story a bit. Arizona, certainly in Q2, we begin to see that seasonality. There just is seasonality in our business and maybe more so than comps that are peers because of our positioning and our market spread. So Q3 is really the prime impact of that seasonality. And as we have a full quarter of it in Q2, it starts back half of Q2. So Steve, I don't know if you have any other color on Arizona specifically.

Yes. Typically, it is true that the second quarter and third quarter in Arizona are weaker. In particular, when you look at the third quarter this year, we had record heat levels. You saw temperatures in excess of 110 degrees, I believe, 30 out of 31 days or all 31 days. So you're going to see, you will see some weakness associated with that seasonality because the temperatures were worse than usual and then you start to see a recovery as temperatures drop and people start returning to school.

Got it. So that overall, it sounds like that's more transaction-based than price decline.

Yes.

Got it. And you spent another $9 million this quarter on the Smart & Safe Florida Campaign. Now that you have signatures, does that spend stock? Or are you now in a period where you transition to any on legal expense to get this on the ballot?

Well, hopefully, the lawyers won't be that expensive, Matt. As a recovering lawyer, I'm pretty keen on watching these fees. But yes, the largest part of that spend is around signature gathering and certainly would expect that to taper dramatically in the back half of the year.

The next question comes from Andrew Partheniou from Stifel.

Congrats on the good quarter here. Just wanted to maybe touch on a little bit more on the OCF Guidance. You reiterated $100 million this year, so it's obviously a big second half. Inventories already come down meaningfully in Q2 and you expect more of that to come. I imagine that the 2 holidays in the quarter helped. Just wondering how should we manage our expectations over the next 2 quarters? You talked about seasonality in Q3 and a potential recovery in Q4. So should we also be thinking that the majority of the cash generation would be in Q4 as well? It's also a period with lots of holidays, even though you have 710 in your August event in Q3.

Yes, I wouldn't say that I would necessarily equate the commentary around a slight seasonality on top line. To necessarily equate to a correlating decline or pressure on cash and operating cash flow. And keep in mind, a few things, let me just give you a color. It's not only the inventory wind-down effort will generate cash in our business. We have been, since really mid-year of last year, optimizing and focusing on streamlining the business in meaningful ways. And some of those initiatives take time to realize through the financials, but we are starting to see those come through at this point. And we got a partial quarter, if you will, this past quarter, and there's going to be some additional acceleration of those, again, pulling through things that we've started over the last 9, 10 months coming through the financials in the back half of the year. So it's not singular in terms of a lever related to inventory wind-down. It also really is a true focus and disciplined focus of getting the business in the right posture, so that we're set to exit this year as a leaner organization. And that's something that again, I'm very proud of this team, we've been very laser-focused on. So that will start to pull through and you'll see those results come in the back half.

And then maybe thinking about the use of cash. CapEx hasn't really ramped up much year-to-date since last quarter. You do provide an upper limit to CapEx. But is it possible that CapEx could be a step change lower than that upper limit? Just wondering on that. Because I think in the past as well, you mentioned that your desire to retire the $130 million of debt due next year. I just wanted to understand the puts and takes on that. If you're comfortable to provide color on retiring that debt or an update on timing. It seems like you have the resources for that.

Yes. Again, one of the primary goals is to an optionality, in the business so that we can take advantage and make strategic decisions and have choices right on the table. And so we're very happy, again, with our cash position, particularly given that we do pay taxes on time and particularly in this year, as a reminder, we have 5 tax payments and still are going to be in a position to be free cash flow positive and on target and for our cash flow from operations goals. So really for us, it's about flexibility and optionality so that we can make decisions that are best for the business as opportunities present themselves. So the CapEx guidance we've given, we're standing behind that. And again, I'm happy that we've got the ability to be in an enviable position where we have options that we can choose between.

The next question comes from Russell Stanley from Beacon Securities. Please go ahead.

First on SG&A, congrats on the reductions there to date. And just following on your comments, Kim, around the lagged impact, some of that being in Q2, I guess, adjusted or normalized SG&A around 29% of sales in the quarter. Where would it have been if the efforts to date had a full impact in the quarter? And how much lower might you take that, how we do you envision getting on that front?

Yes. Russ, I don't have a number to give you on that on that specific metric. And obviously, it would have been higher, slightly. But I think that, again, it's a question of what's coming in the quarter, what's one-time versus what's an ongoing initiative. And those, of course, as you can understand, will vary from quarter to quarter. And for us, again, the focus is on optimizing the operation. And we want to make sure that we're running efficiently, but also effectively. And we are, of course, very focused on making sure that our standards continue to be met. And that we're continuing to – again, our mantra is scale and service. So we certainly want to make sure that we -- it's a balance in terms of getting to the appropriate level of optimization, eliminating redundancies. There's been a lot of effort and focus on back of house and really making sure, again, that those parts of the organization are streamlined and again, running efficiently. And there's some additional work that's in flight on that. And quite frankly, you may not see that come through until maybe first part of next year. It's an ongoing discipline and one that, again, we really started to focus in on in a meaningful way midyear last year and are committed to. And I think again you'll continue to see benefits pull through and pull through on the financials.

Thanks for that. And just for my follow-up, switching to Georgia. Can you elaborate on the pace of market growth here relative to your expectations and also elaborate, I think, on your reference to the potential for pharmacies to begin distributing products pending the rules on that?

Yes, sure. So Georgia is really, I would say, on pace as it relates to expectations, and it's going to be a steady build. As I've said before, it reminds me a lot of early days in Florida, where I don't think anyone on this call is maybe paying attention to the floor back in those days, because we were a little CBD-only and then Right To Try came in and then conditions started getting added up until the point where, of course, there was the valid initiative and everyone heads turned our way. And so Georgia is really similar in that respect. And we're working and certainly have good relationship with the state. We're currently focused on really trying to get the time for cards down. Again, similar to Florida right now, it takes too long for someone to actually get a card in Georgia. And that being said, there are some positives. We're excited about the upcoming rulemaking, draft rules are out. So that process is in flight. And those rules will allow for pharmacies to order products into active point-of-sale for regulated cannabis products in that market. And so we've been developing relationships with -- and it's primarily going to be independent pharmacies at this point, but we've been developing relationships with independent pharmacists and feel that there is an -- could be a meaningful uptick in distribution points, once that actually is enacted, and we're able to start selling through those channels.

The next question comes from Eric Des Lauriers from Craig-Hallum Capital Group. Please go ahead

Great. Thank you for taking my question. The first one is just on JeffCo, a general question here. I'm wondering how long you expect that to say to be dialed in. Do you see this as a quarter or 2 of a few harvest to get dialed in? Or do you think the uniqueness of the automation in this facility might either pull that forward or push that back a bit? Just wondering how long you expect JeffCo to be dialed in and obviously I understand that there's a lag from when it's dialed into when that inventory actually gets sold. But just wondering how you're looking at the timing of JeffCo given its uniqueness.

Yes. Just as a reminder, the first phase of JeffCo is fully planted. That is on a regular cadence at this point, and that is flowing through the inventory mix currently. Because of a facility is not large, we don't plant everything at one time. So it's on a rolling harvest schedule. Otherwise, we would have these huge ebbs and flows, if you will, in terms of inventory, but our labor and everything else. And so it's going to be more a gradual folding in, if you will, then I would say, a stuck function change. So I just don't want us to have an expectation, that we wake up one day and it's August 8 and all of a sudden, there's a step function change in terms of our cost basis. So it will come in over time. And in terms of when we think in completion, it will be fully contributing, like I said, I think that's going to be in dialed in and kinks worked out, and we can feel like, okay, this is our new normal steady state going forward. I think it's going to take 2 things for us to really see that and the numbers. One, again, we have to continue to work through legacy inventory and clear that out because we have higher cost of inventory that's currently in the queue, if you will. And then in addition, we have to actually get those kinks out and remain operational in JeffCo. So I would say really for that to happen, that's going to be 2024 item, but that doesn't mean, again, that we won't begin to see benefits into 2023. We're already starting to see that come through the pipe now with the first phase. But again, we have this inventory wind-down effort happening simultaneously. And it also should be noted, which you actually mentioned that product mix matters. So depending on, again, how fast our turns are, what velocities look like on particular products and how we're allocating that legacy inventory versus the new JeffCo inventory, of course, will impact how quickly you start to see impact. You start to see the flow-through on the financials. So short answer is all in 2024 with some benefit coming through in 2023.

That makes sense. I appreciate that color. And then my next question, I apologize if you touched on this in the prepared remarks, I'm juggling another call. I was really impressed with the gross margin performance this quarter despite the inventory reductions. Obviously, inventory reductions are a primary focus here. Can you just talk about how you're thinking about the trade-off between margin strength and inventory reduction in the second half? Should we expect margin pressure from this 50% range in the second half as you unwind inventory? Or is there something about these results that gives you confidence in being able to unwind inventory without too much of a further impact to margins? Thank you very much.

Yes. Thanks for the question. As we've noted previously, there are a number of factors that impact margins. One of the unique things that occurred this quarter was the reclass for idle capacity between G&A back to COGS. For the remainder of the year, we continue our inventory reduction, which does impact margins. And we've touched quite a bit on JeffCo so far. But again, we're still selling through our legacy inventory. And consumer demand obviously has -- with different velocities, that ebbs and flows every quarter. So it really is a linear side.

Yes. And to piggyback on what Ryan said. I mean, I think that the reality is that it's a dynamic and it really does all go back, and as I said before, to the customer and that product mix piece. And then what flows through that is what inventory bucket we're pulling from? What are the costs in relying that inventory. And then, of course, again, if that's legacy inventory, it's going to have a negative impact on margin. If it's just inventory, it will be certainly a little bit better. And that dynamic will continue, right, and through our inventory wind-down completion, which will be definitely for the remainder of this year, as you note.

The next question comes from Scott Fortune from ROTH MKM. Please go ahead.

Real quick, Florida. You mentioned seasonality. We're seeing heavy discounting there and continuing price pressure. Just step us through how from a seasonality standpoint. The discounting been more than general and just your initiatives from loyalty and other initiatives continue as you put up these numbers to continue to offset that price pressure within Florida going forward with more competitors coming on board here?

Yes. So Florida, of course, is a cornerstone state for us. It's our home states where we got our start. And we feel very, of course, connected to our customers in the state of Florida. We certainly have seen customer preferences shift in Florida. And just as we have in varying degrees across different markets. And we also, of course, strategically have launched our inventory wind-down initiative this year. So for us, we are absolutely leaning into sell-through a particular product types where we believe that there's strong consumer demand in order to work through that inventory in an effective way. And have had good success there. And of course, as we mentioned, had incredible results this quarter in terms of just volumes in Florida with incredible increases of, as I mentioned, 21% up quarter-over-quarter in oil products and 9% in flower. And again, just because a little bit statistic, it's 130% more oil and 150% more flower per store than our next closest competitor. So we certainly -- what we're seeing in Florida specifically as while we are seeing some price compression, we're seeing demand increase on an absolute basis quarter-over-quarter. A number of transactions are up, and I think that really plays our strength. Because of our scale and our position where we are, I think, uniquely positioned in Florida specifically, where we can handle increased demand. And so for us, increased volumes is something we're incredibly comfortable with. And we're also comfortable with shifting against consumer preferences. Our ability to pivot from a production capacity standpoint, a retail capacity standpoint, a cultivation capacity standpoint is unmatched. And so we're really, at this point, happy to lean into that strength, particularly, again, now when we have excess inventory and we can really use this time to dial into changing consumer behaviors and use it to really understand and test strategies to really meet this consumer where they're at.

Got it. I appreciate the color there. And then probably Kim, real quickly, can you speak on the other states, Ohio, Pennsylvania, potential adult-use there, potential expansion in Maryland and Connecticut? Can you provide a little bit more color or call out some of the states? And the CapEx, as you look at '23, you're not giving anything out in '24, but the CapEx needs for expanding or growing, just update on the other, that would be great.

Sure. So our metrics that we've given as it relates to CapEx is that we're looking to expand to 15 new stores, 15 to 20 new stores this year and a relocation of up to 6 this year. So far, year-to-date, we've opened 11 and we've done 3 relocations. So certainly more to come on the retail side of things. And we, in other states, as mentioned in the prepared remarks, Pennsylvania has really been a great performer for us, as we've really pivoted strategically there to launch and really consumer has accepted and really by evidence by the numbers. Our own branded products through our branded retail in Pennsylvania, that was a strategic initiative that was launched in the back half of last year. We're up to 50% sell-through of branded products, rebranded retail in that market. And again, really in terms of when we think about durability, brand building, et cetera, in a market that is really important for us as we consider the potential upside of an adult-use flip in Pennsylvania with legislation recently introduced, and we think that's a high likely rec flip state in the next, call it, 12 to 24 months. So I'm very excited about positioning in Pennsylvania. Maryland, that team has just done an incredible job and really to take, again, the volumes of our existing platform up to 200% with a rec flip. It's just, again, really incredible performance. And also, I think, evidence when we think about our sell-through of again, internally branded products, not only through our retail channel in Maryland, but also wholesale and the cultivation team. And production team really dialing in our flower is outstanding there, as well as our additional product portfolio. We just launched our Edibles line there as well. And so again, Maryland and really great performance by that team with a recreational flip. Arizona, as we mentioned, normal for this time of year that we're seeing seasonality in that state. And we are poised to launch additional brands in Arizona back half of this year, as we come out of that seasonal period. And plan to also begin focus on, which has already started, branded product through branded retail. So I believe that there's certainly upside to be had as it relates to, again, brand building in Arizona, which is another focus of ours through the back half of this year into early next year.

The next question comes from Aaron Grey from Alliance Global Partners. Please go ahead.

First question for me. I want to turn back to Florida, just a little bit more from a store perspective. So store openings slowed a bit in Florida. You definitely have most stores in the state. Do you still see meaningful opportunities for additional stores? Or do you think the slower cadence is where we should expect things going forward? And then if you could touch on that, both how you see saturation in terms of the current medical market and then how that might change from an adult-use market scenario, that would be helpful.

Yes. Aaron, listen, patient growth in Florida has continued to be really steady. As we've seen rough numbers, approximately 2,000 patients per week continue to enter the program. So I think at this point, again, the saturation numbers are interesting to me because they don't take into account. They're done in a little bit of a vacuum, and they don't take into account when you're comparing market the nuances or specifics of a particular program. And in Florida, specifically, there have been some changes to the program, which I think are actually helpful in that now, in this past legislative session, renewals are available now via telemedicine. And so I believe that, that will positively impact retention rates in Florida on a go-forward basis. So very interested to see how that plays out. And one thing right, we talked about new patients a lot, but we don't necessarily have great visibility in terms of the exit rates or if you will, or fall-off rates of patients on a renewal basis. In addition, in Florida because of the way that the law is written, there's a plethora of conditions that qualify along with the condition, which we call Condition K. That is a light-class condition, which allows physicians to analogize other conditions to particular symptoms or elements that a presenting patient may have. So again, I think Florida has certainly outperformed all initial estimates as it relates to adoption. And I for one don't see signs that patient growth has reached a saturation point or that that's necessarily slowing down. In fact, I think there may be some evidence that it's actually continuing. As it relates to competitiveness, there are new licenses that have been issued. We're not seeing really anything in terms of build-out or investment of those new licenses. My take on that is that many of these are investment groups who are looking to potentially either make a decision to invest or potentially sell if and when recreational is realized. And I think importantly, as you know, in Florida, because of the structure, it does take significant investment because you have to invest in the entire supply chain in order to compete. So you can't just prop up retail. You also have to fund cultivation and production. And also new-ish in Florida, there's now a $3 million licensing fee that you have to pay every 2 years. So I think that also increases a bit of cost to entry. And I know there are a lot of licenses that are available for sale currently not much from an investment perspective. So we're continuing to see what we have seen, which is the top, call it, 10 companies and have, I would say, 80-plus percent of the market in Florida and would believe that, that would continue. And again, just because there's demand doesn't mean that equates to a 1 for 1 as it relates to a new competitor from that.

Second question for me, just on loyalty. I know you previously announced plan to relaunch that in the back half of the year. I believe it was going to be more point base and definitely a big effort to increase retention rate. So any additional color you can provide on that? Have you done any pilots? When people might be able to hear more on it? Is it more of a 4Q dynamic? Or you getting launched now in the summer? So wanting color on the relaunch of the loyalty program would be appreciated.

Yes. Aaron, thanks for asking that. We actually are -- so it's stepped and we have to launch the website because of the interconnectivity there prior to launching loyalty. And so that's why the comments were around launching the website and the revamp of the website, which we're really excited about, which is going to hit on Q3. And then post that, we'll be rolling out the revamped loyalty. Now it should be noted that the revamped loyalty is not going to be launched simultaneously across all markets at one time. And so you will see us beginning to roll that out in Q4, and we'll certainly be excited to share more color on that. And there's been a lot of work and a lot of testing that's been going on behind the scenes there. And again, the interconnectivity, we're really trying to -- and a lot of our efforts, again, on that side of things have been on -- we talk about integrated commerce and making sure that things are connected and working together. And so excited for you to get a look at the work that's been going on in terms of, call it 2.0 from our website first, and that will be coming soon.

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the call back to Christine Hersey, for closing remarks.

Thanks, everyone, for your time today. We look forward to sharing additional updates during the next earnings call. Thanks again, and have a great day.

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.