Acreage Holdings, Inc. (ACRGF) CEO Peter Caldini on Q2 2022 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

Acreage Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX:ACRGF) Q2 2022 Earnings Conference Call August 9, 2022 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Peter Caldini – CEO

Steven Goertz – CFO

Conference Call Participants

Victor Ma – Cowen

Glenn Mattson – Ladenburg

Yewon Kang – Canaccord Genuity

Bill Kirk – MKM Partners

Pablo Zuanic – Cantor Fitzgerald

Operator

Good morning. Thank you for attending today’s Acreage Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. My name is Frances, and I’ll be your moderator today. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to pass the conference over to our host, Steve Goertz, Chief Financial Officer of Acreage Holdings.

Steven Goertz

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Acreage Holdings Second Quarter Conference Call. Joining me today is Peter Caldini, our Chief Executive Officer. Today’s call will be archived on our Investor Relations website at investors.acreageholdings.com.

Before we begin, I would like to remind listeners that today’s call contains forward-looking statements subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Any such information and statements should be taken in conjunction with cautionary statements in our press releases and risk factor discussions in our public filings found on SEDAR and EDGAR as well as our investor website. Any forward-looking statements reflect management’s expectations as of today’s date, and we assume no obligation to update them other than as may be required by applicable securities law.

I will now turn the call over to Peter.

Peter Caldini

Thanks, Steve, and good morning, everyone. As our results continue to demonstrate, Acreage is a transformed company. And I am very encouraged by the strong performance we achieved in the second quarter.

Revenue was up 39% year-over-year to $61.4 million, largely due to contributions from our high-quality cultivation and retail assets in Ohio as well as the official opening of the adult-use market in New Jersey. Revenue was also up 8% quarter-over-quarter, again, primarily driven by the opening of the adult-use market in New Jersey.

This revenue was somewhat offset by declines within our Oregon operations that were held for sale. However, we are pleased to report that subsequent to the quarter, we officially concluded our operations in Oregon with the sale of our 4 retail dispensaries in that state.

Much like the first quarter this year, revenue for the second quarter of 2022 continued to be impacted by significant pricing pressure across a number of markets as well as lingering pandemic-related challenges. In addition, inflation is impacting the discretionary spending of our consumers, which is having a negative impact on our revenue. Yet despite these challenges, we have continued to deliver, thanks to the solid crop that we built and have continued to strengthen.

Looking at the cost side. We continue to remain diligent in the control of our discretionary spending. Unfortunately, inflation on most of our input costs has resulted in both increased cost of goods and administrative expenses. In a period where we’re seeing selling price declines and an increase in our cost of operations, maintaining margins and profitability has been challenging.

But fortunately, the trajectory we’ve been on since the implementation of our three key strategic priorities has been positive, with the latest quarter marking our sixth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2022 was $10.4 million, increasing 28% compared to the second quarter of 2021 and a 20% improvement sequentially from the first quarter of 2022.

Q2 was also an exciting quarter for our team as we began to realize the benefits of the significant efforts made over the last year to prepare for adult-use sales in New Jersey. This was a monumental moment for us, and I am proud of how we came together to successfully launch when the market opened on April 21.

Revenue in New Jersey was up significantly for the second quarter of 2022, both when compared year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter on approximately 2 months of adult-use sales. We are very satisfied with our initial retail sales performance at our two adult-use dispensaries in Egg Harbor Township and Williamstown. We look forward to operating a third adult-use dispensary in New Jersey, the timing of which will be determined once we have resolved municipal zoning concern.

We are not, however, satisfied with our wholesale and cultivation capabilities in the state, and we do not feel it’s consistent with the standards we’ve established at Acreage. The expansion of our Egg Harbor cultivation facility was completed quickly to ensure that we were ready for the start of adult-use sales. Unfortunately, as a result of the focus on meeting its deadline, we did not optimize our processes and staffing, and we were unable to complete some of the capital upgrades necessary for a broader product selection.

We are aggressively working on correcting some of these shortcomings now, and we believe that with the improved yields and enhanced quality, we will further improve our performance in this growing market and solidify our position as one of the top-tier wholesalers and retailers in New Jersey.

Our experience in New Jersey have given us valuable insight into how to successfully launch within a new adult-use market and are informing our decisions as we continue to make steady progress building out our New York strategy in advance of the pending adult-use market. In the second quarter, we completed the first phase of expansion on our cultivation facility in Syracuse, New York.

Our expanded cultivation in New York positions us to further support wholesale demand in the existing medical market and prepares us for the impending launch of adult-use sales. Additionally, we continue to review our network of retail dispensaries in the state to ensure that we have a solid footprint for the anticipated increase in activity that will come with the introduction of adult-use.

As an added benefit of the expansion of our New York cultivation facility, after the quarter, we were able to launch whole flower that was within the state’s strict microbial limit, making Acreage one of the only producers in New York with the capability to supply nonremediated whole flower in the market.

Next, increasing pricing pressure in the Connecticut market has negatively impacted our revenue performance. However, we remain committed to this market and remain excited by its future opportunity. We continue to prepare for adult-use and pursue opportunities to further increase our leadership position through vertical integration in that state.

Turning to Maine. We announced during the quarter that we have successfully completed the consolidation and adult-use conversion of our remaining retail location that had been operating under a managed service agreement. With this initiative complete, we are looking at consolidation and conversion of the cultivation facility, which we expect to be completed in the coming quarters.

In Massachusetts, our retail dispensaries have performed well in a difficult retail environment, but the pricing pressure that exists in this market is intense, which is negatively impacting revenue. In response, we continue to leverage our premium position with The Botanist and Superflux to continue to drive at wholesale and retail levels.

In Pennsylvania, our high-quality products and innovation have helped insulate us to some degree against the aggressive pricing pressure in that market. Our products remain very much in demand in this key wholesale market.

Next, in Illinois, our year-over-year growth was very strong as we lap the expansion of our cultivation facility that was completed in the second quarter of 2021. We also saw slight growth both quarter-over-quarter as the wholesale market in the state continues to develop. We believe that the wholesale market will open up even further for us if additional dispensaries come online in the future.

And lastly, I am very happy with our sustained leadership position in the state of Ohio, where our operations continue to perform very well. During the first half of the year, we rolled out new innovative edible format and increased the quantity of the products we produce in the state, which has helped grow revenue both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter.

Our strategy to accelerate growth in our core markets, drive profitability and strengthen our balance sheet has served us well, focusing our team on maintaining a disciplined financial approach with a strong operational strength, guiding us through more challenging market conditions. As we move into the second half of the year, we will maintain our focus on delivering and expanding our premium product portfolio to better serve our existing customers and attract new ones.

We will also continue to explore potential partnerships where we see strong opportunities. We believe our commitment to innovation and a solid foundation in our core markets will be the key drivers for us as we maintain our disciplined strategy to deliver value for our shareholders.

Before I turn the call over to Steve for a detailed look at our financials for the second quarter, I want to finish by taking a moment to acknowledge the amazing work our team has done during the first half of the year. Despite the ongoing challenges in the market, we have continued to find opportunities to grow and deliver results.

And this is all because of the work of our committed and passionate team members. We went live with adult-use sales in New Jersey, integrated Ohio into our organization, are preparing for upcoming adult-use market in New York and Connecticut and enhancing our premium wholesale operations in several states across our footprint.

I want to thank everyone for the hard work that has gone on to into these initiatives. This strategy has built us a strong platform for future growth, and we are more excited than ever about the future of Acreage.

I will now turn the call over to Steve to discuss the financial results for the quarter in more detail before we open the call to questions.

Steven Goertz

Thank you, Peter. Revenue for the second quarter of 2022 was $61.4 million, a 39% increase compared to the second quarter of 2021. The increase in revenue was largely due to the addition of operations in Ohio, the expansion of our presence in Maine and Illinois and New Jersey adult-use sales beginning in late April. The year-over-year revenue growth was somewhat offset by declines in select markets due to pricing pressures and by revenue declines within the company’s Oregon operations that were held for sale.

Additionally, wholesale revenue for the second quarter of 2021 included a large bulk sale that did not recur in the current year. Additionally, total revenue for the second quarter of 2022 improved sequentially, by $4.5 million or 8% compared to the first quarter of 2022. Excluding the company’s Oregon operations, which were not considered core, however, revenue for the 3 months ended June 30, 2022, increased by 9% on a sequential basis.

Retail revenue increased 64% for the quarter compared to the second quarter of 2021 and was driven primarily by the acquisition of Ohio on October 1, 2021. Excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestitures and the revenue performance of our Oregon operations, which are being held for sale, retail revenue increased by 14%. This organic growth was primarily a result of New Jersey adult-use sales beginning in late April and increased marketing initiatives and the introduction of innovative new products across various states.

Wholesale revenue declined by 8% versus the comparable period in 2021. As mentioned, included in the wholesale sales for the second quarter of 2021 was a large bulk sale that did not recur the current year. Excluding this nonrecurring transaction and the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, wholesale revenue declined by 3%. Our increased capacity as well as our maturing operation in Illinois, which resulted in higher yields and better product mixes, were unable to offset wholesale price declines in select markets.

Total gross profit for the second quarter of 2022 was $30.6 million, an increase of $6.7 million or 28% compared to Q2 2021. Revenue growth drove this increase, and gross margin also continued to benefit from the vertical integration of our operations as a greater portion of the products sold in our retail dispensaries was sourced internally from our own production and processing operations.

Gross profit generated from this internally produced product includes both the wholesale and retail margins. Offsetting these benefits were selling price declines due to competition and an increase in our cost of operations due to inflation. Overall, maintaining margins in this environment has been challenging.

Gross margin during the quarter was 50% compared to 54% in the second quarter of 2021 and 52% in the first quarter of 2022. Gross margin was impacted in the second quarter as efficiencies gained from further economies of scale were unable to offset price declines and cost increases due to inflation.

Total operating expenses for the quarter were $27.3 million, a decrease of $3.3 million or 11% from the second quarter of 2021 and a sequential decline of $4.9 million or 15% from the first quarter of 2022. Increases in compensation and general and administrative expenses were more than offset by reductions in equity-based compensation expense, losses on notes receivable and depreciation and amortization expenses.

Excluding equity-based compensation expenses, losses, write-downs and recoveries, impairments and depreciation and amortization expenses, all of which are noncash in nature, total operating expenses for the 3 months ended June 30, 2022, increased $4.9 million or 28% compared to the corresponding period of fiscal 2021.

Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes impairments, equity-based compensation expense and unusual items that are not expected to recur in future periods was $10.4 million for the second quarter of 2022, increasing 28% compared to adjusted EBITDA of $8.1 million in the second quarter of 2021 and a sequential improvement of 20% from adjusted EBITDA of $8.6 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Adjusted EBITDA from core operations, which excludes markets where the company has entered into definitive agreements to exit and startup ventures, was $10.9 million for the current quarter, indicating that the company’s core markets are still being negatively impacted by its noncore operations.

Consolidated EBITDA during the quarter was negative $7.1 million compared to a consolidated EBITDA of negative $6.7 million in the previous year’s comparable period.

Lastly, net loss attributable to Acreage for the quarter was $9.9 million compared to a loss of $2.6 million in the second quarter of 2021. The net loss in the second quarter of 2021 included a large gain on the sale of Acreage Florida that did not recur in the current period.

During the quarter, we completed the sale of our cultivation and processing facility in Medford, Oregon and closed the dispensary in Powell, Oregon. Total consideration for the sale of the Medford cultivation and processing facility was $2 million, including $750,000 paid to Acreage in February 2021, $500,000 due August 1, 2022, and the remaining balance of $750,000 due May 1, 2023.

As mentioned earlier, following the end of the quarter, we completed the sale of the company’s 4 Oregon retail dispensaries branded as Cannabliss & Co., which has effectively concluded our operations in Oregon.

Closing with our balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $29.3 million in cash and restricted cash on hand and $3.4 million in short-term investments, which can be readily converted into cash. As of June 30, 2022, $100 million was drawn under the credit facility we entered into in the fourth quarter of 2021 and a further $50 million is available in future periods under a committed accordion option once certain predetermined milestones are achieved. Acreage intends to use the cash on hand and the proceeds of the credit facility to fund expansion initiatives and provide additional working capital.

With that, I will now have the operator open the line for questions. Operator, please go ahead.

Question-and-Answer Session

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Vivien Azer with Cowen. Please go ahead.

Victor Ma

This is actually Victor Ma on for Vivien Azer. So on your top line, roughly how much of the 9% sequential growth, excluding Oregon, was due to adult-use sales in New Jersey?

Steven Goertz

We don’t give actual numbers state by state, but I would say a significant portion of the growth was driven by New Jersey, where we saw very, very strong performance at retail.

Victor Ma

Great. And then regarding gross margins, can you talk about the puts and takes behind the 200 bps sequential gross margin contraction and help us dimensionalize your outlook for gross margins in the rest of the year as Connecticut adult-use comes online?

Steven Goertz

Yes. We’ve always said we expect a long-term sustainable gross margin rate, given the current environment of around 50 basis points — 50%, which is where we’re at right now. We had some stronger gross margin in prior quarters, prior years because we took advantage of inventory that was produced sometime in the past at a lower cost base. We’ve now run that through. So we’re seeing margins in the range that we expect.

We are seeing pressure. Obviously, prices are coming down in some markets due to competition, and we’re seeing inflation bringing our input costs up. I don’t think we’re unique there. I think that’s what most of the industry is facing. But given the mix that we’ve got and the efficiencies that we’re getting out of our production facilities, we’ve been able to maintain that margin at 50%.

Operator

Our next question comes from Aaron Grey with Alliance Global. Please go ahead.

Unidentified Analyst

This is Mason [ph] for Aaron Grey. So regarding New York, there have been a number of headlines around the beginning of adult-use sales, and you were — with uncertainty around the timing, how exactly that’s going to roll out? So could you just provide some color on how you view the opportunity in the market today and how you’re looking to expand the cultivation ahead? And you touched on it a little bit. And then how — with this uncertainty, how has it led you into this expansion?

Steven Goertz

Yes. So thank you very much for the question. Obviously, for us, New York is a critical market, and we’re very well positioned to take advantage of what we expect to be a very robust adult-use market.

In terms of timing, it’s anybody’s — there’s — it’s a little bit dangerous to make predictions around this. But the way we’re currently looking at it, we would anticipate adult-use sales in the first half of next year. We are really building up our capabilities in preparation for adult use. We did complete our Syracuse cultivation expansion. The first phase of that, so we have the ability to expand up to 235,000 square feet. We actually just did one phase of that.

So we want to see how the market evolves, and we’re going to continue to build that out. We have the shell in place, so it’s going to be a lot easier for us to add additional rooms. And we just wonder how the market develops. But for us, we see a [indiscernible] opportunity. We’re very well positioned. We’re building out our capabilities from a cultivation standpoint. We also have 4 operating dispensaries. We’re looking to optimize that footprint and also potentially take advantage of additional refill dispensaries when adult-use opens up.

Operator

Our next question comes from Glenn Mattson with Ladenburg. Please go ahead.

Glenn Mattson

Sorry, maybe you covered this and I missed it. But just curious, you talked about the cultivation facility in New Jersey not quite up to the standards. You expect these capital upgrades not optimize that kind of thing. So I’m just curious like how big of an issue are you kind of trying to flag there and how long to get it back to where you think it needs to be. And maybe like what kind of investment is needed as well.

Steven Goertz

Yes, Glenn, so thanks for the question. New Jersey is obviously a critical market for us. And we had very strong performance in Q2 with the introduction of adult-use, and when we say we’re disappointed, we feel that we couldn’t fully capitalize on the wholesale opportunity in that market.

We’re very pleased from a retail standpoint. And a lot of that had to do — we don’t have the output and the quality that we need to really take advantage of that market. So we have a number of resources involved in that. I don’t think it’s significant from a capital standpoint.

And any time you’re addressing some of these operational issues, you start seeing improvements in 3 to 4 months. And so listen, I think New Jersey continues to be an important market for us. We’re not exactly where we want to be in that market specifically from a wholesale standpoint, and we need to get the cultivation where it needs today. But our performance, it’s not going to impact from where we are from a revenue standpoint. I think it’s only going to get better.

Glenn Mattson

Okay. Great. That’s helpful. And I guess, I’ll just call it the same-store sales growth. It’s another kind of uptick sequentially. You kind of lay out transaction growth also ramping, offsetting the kind of basket size or whatever. Maybe just a little more detail on some of the dynamics there. Is that — is a lot of that same-store sale growth related to New Jersey? Or is there any of the markets you’d call out that were particularly strong that drove that?

Steven Goertz

Yes. I would say New Jersey, obviously, with the move to recreational use, adult-use was very strong for same-store sales growth. But we’re also seeing some good performance in some of the other key markets. We’ve got a fantastic operation in Ohio.

It continues to grow. We’re getting great growth out of those stores, albeit it wouldn’t be included in the same-store sales growth because we only acquired those on October 1. We’re seeing good growth in some of our Illinois properties. The retail market there is robust. The wholesale market should pick up in the near term as those additional dispensaries that have been approved start to open. So it’s not just New Jersey. We’ve seen some strong sales growth in some of the other markets.

As you pointed out, the same-store sales growth is really driven by transaction count, and it’s offsetting an average basket size decline. That’s good news. We’re bringing in more customers, which is — which will help us over the long term. It’s tough on the selling price though. Prices are coming down. Consumers have less disposable income in their pockets, so they’re buying less. So that’s hitting basket size, obviously. We’re happy to see that. We’re more than able to offset that with the growth in the customer count.

Operator

Our next question comes from Yewon Kang with Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.

Yewon Kang

I just had a quick question on the cash balance. So I know you guys ended the quarter with about $29.3 million in cash, and there’s additional $50 million of funding available. So what are the kind of milestones that need to be achieved in order to tap into this $50 million reserve?

Steven Goertz

Yes. We’ve got a great relationship with our lenders. They’ve been in support of us as we go along. We arranged the facility in November, December of last year. As you can see in our balance sheet, we still have substantial cash balances available to us. The additional $50 million is really there to fund additional capital expenditures. So access to those funds are really a combination of meeting financial covenants on a pro forma basis as well as showing sufficient fixed assets, real estate assets and the like to support that larger debt balance that we would have to carry.

Yewon Kang

Okay. If I could just follow up with one more question. So I know that there’s probably not much that you can say in terms of the regulatory hurdles that you guys are seeing in New Jersey. But do you have any kind of idea as to what the timing would be like for the third store in the state to open a further adult-use market?

Steven Goertz

Yes, Yewon, good question. Like I said in the prepared statement, very pleased with the retail performance we have in our 2 existing locations. We see a tremendous opportunity in Atlantic City on the Boardwalk. I think it’s a great opportunity, not only for Acreage but also for the city. We’ve been working very closely with the municipality. And quite frankly, it’s been frustrating.

We feel that the goalpost keeps on moving. That being said, we’re going to continue to have the conversations to find a path. But at the same time, in parallel, we’re aggressively looking at alternative locations outside of Atlantic City. So I really can’t give you a timing right now where we are, but it’s certainly a priority for us and something that we’re working very closely with the city as well as identifying other locations.

Peter Caldini

Yes. I think we’re committed to opening a third dispensary in Southern New Jersey as our license allows. Our preferred spot would be in Atlantic City. But if we’re not able to obtain reasonable zoning, we’ll look at other markets.

Operator

Our next question comes from Bill Kirk with MKM Partners. Please go ahead.

Bill Kirk

Could you update us a little bit on the Canopy brand IP that you’re using today and maybe the plans for more of it to come? I guess the crux of the question is, is it happening at the pace you originally intended within segments in combustibles or in beverages?

Peter Caldini

Yes. So great question. First off, we have a very strong relationship with Canopy. And I think that goes beyond just looking at from an IP standpoint in terms of the brands and the products, but it’s also capabilities and expertise all the way from cultivation throughout the value chain. So we continue to have a lot of dialogue with Canopy, and we do explore different opportunities in different markets where we can fully leverage their brand IP.

We also see a significant opportunity to continue to build out our brands in a lot of the markets, so we’re always trying to balance that as well. But as we continue to build and stabilize our business, which we’ve been doing for the last 18 months, I think we’re going to continue to identify opportunities to fully exploit that.

I think what gets in our way sometimes in terms of fully leveraging Canopy’s capabilities, and it’s something that we often discuss with the Canopy team quite regularly, is how do we put ourselves in a position we can fully leverage their capabilities, not just Canopy but the entire ecosystem, which sometimes is restricted by some of the regulation, TSA, for example, what they can get involved in or not.

So we continue to work very closely with them, and it just goes beyond just products and brands. It’s just the entire business approach, and we’re always looking at different ways to further leverage that relationship.

Operator

Our next question comes from Pablo Zuanic with Cantor Fitzgerald. Please go ahead.

Pablo Zuanic

Just one question on the comments you made about pricing pressures in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Can you just put some context between them? In Massachusetts, I think the wholesale is $2,200 per pound. I mean is Pennsylvania below that? Which is worse? Just some more color there, if you can.

Peter Caldini

Yes. So, Pablo, from a pricing standpoint, it’s also the evolution that goes across the entire mix. And when we’re looking at that, I think seeing the same types of pricing evolution in both those states and has become very aggressive in Massachusetts as well as Pennsylvania. And you’re seeing that across a number of markets, and it’s significant. As more supply comes online, you’re seeing that competitive pricing pressure. And I think it’s pretty consistent across both markets what that decrease is.

Pablo Zuanic

Right. But I’m sorry — so in the case of Massachusetts, again, the price, I think it’s $2,200 per pound. I mean would you say Pennsylvania is at that level or even lower?

Peter Caldini

You know what, Paul, I don’t have the specific number, but when we’re talking about the pricing pressure, we’re talking about more the evolution of the price as opposed to the absolute number.

Steven Goertz

Yes. I think we’ve also got to recognize we get different positioning in the markets. In Massachusetts, we’re integrated. So we’ve got cultivation, further processing, producing edibles and 2 retail establishments. And in that market, although we’re working to become premium, we’re not where we need to be yet.

Pennsylvania is a very different story. We’ve only got cultivation. We don’t have retail. So we’re only capturing a wholesale price and not getting the retail selling price. But we are very premium in that market. So we’re able to charge a significant premium over mass quantity, flower and other products. So our pricing in Pennsylvania would be better than the average in the marketplace by a significant margin because of the placement of our products.

Pablo Zuanic

Got it. And then going back to New Jersey, I understand that you don’t want to disclose too much details, but I guess 2 questions. One, the state government said $24 million in sales for the first month of sales, right? Would you say that month 2, three and four were similar, higher or lower? I mean we are hearing there was a pent-up demand in the first month, but then things began to settle down, and actually, we haven’t crossed $24 million. And I know I’m asking you what you hear about the market as a whole. That’s one question.

And then the second question, at least based on the first month, right, $24 million, 12 stores, that’s $2 million per store in sales per month. I mean would you say that Acreage was above that or below that? Because some companies are making claims of almost $5 million per month. So it means that some people are way below the average. But just some color there, on cadence for the market and then on your store performance, revenue per store compared to the industry average and your estimates.

Steven Goertz

Yes. I would say New Jersey came out with a bang. April 21, lineups around the block for all of the retail locations, ours included. And so there was pent-up demand. You had a very, very big opening week. It settled down somewhat after that, but it wasn’t significant decline. It’s been a steady business. Fortunately or unfortunately, we continue to have long lineups at our retail stores. We’re working to address that through more staffing, but that’s indicative of robust consumer demand. So I would say it was a great start to the market, and the demand continues to build. So New Jersey has been very good in that regard.

There is some volatility between the results of each of our stores. We’ve got 2 stores open for adult-use, and they have different sales performances. They’re both — from each of them based on the market that they’re at.

I think from what we’ve seen, given the population base and the densities in the north, the stores in the north are likely doing greater monthly volumes than the stores in the south, and our stores are located in the south. So we’re not near that big bulk of the population.

Having said that, it’s — we’re still very happy about the performance of the stores that we’ve seen so far. I don’t want to speak on the individual store’s performance or what average would be, but it’s been good so far. But there’s always areas to improve. If we could get more product out of our cultivation facilities and more product forms, I think we’d have some more success at growing sales even further.

Pablo Zuanic

Okay. That’s very helpful color. And one last one, just if you can expand on Connecticut. I mean, I think, other companies have talked about growth in the teens sequentially. I think you mentioned a decline. What’s going on there for you there?

Steven Goertz

Yes. We were a large player in Connecticut. We’ve had — for medicinal use, we’ve got 3 of the highest-performing stores. Connecticut has been a tough market for us this year. I think some consumers have chosen to not purchase the medical cards this year in anticipation of adult-use happening sometime between now and early next year.

And they’re making the truck to other states like Massachusetts to buy their product. There’s also been more competition going up in that market, so that’s brought prices down. So Connecticut, like I said, was one of our largest-performing states. It still is a very large state for us, but our performance would be slightly negative there.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] There are no questions waiting at this time. So I’ll pass the conference back over to Peter Caldini, Chief Executive Officer, for any further remarks.

Peter Caldini

Thank you, operator, and thanks again for everybody joining the call. We continue to be very pleased with our progress at Acreage, in particular, as we continue to follow our 3 strategic priorities. And we also look forward to updating everyone in future calls as we continue to build out our business and really achieve the potential that we believe is ahead of us, and we have the capabilities to reach. So once again, thanks, everybody, for joining the call, and have a good rest of your day.

Operator

That concludes today’s conference call. You may now disconnect.

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