Canadian Cannabis is having its moment as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other government officials have positioned the country among the leaders in cannabis public policy, and are shifting marijuana into being widely accepted as an effective form of medical treatment. As a result, the country’s first-mover status has given licensed producers under Health Canada’s ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations) a serious head start. These selected companies are able to leverage this greenfield to establish strong brand recognition, shore up the best sources of funding, and build a loyal customer base.
These ACMPR-licensed cannabis companies across the Great White North are now in a rush to lock down real estate to build growing facilities, and Invictus MD Strategies Corp (IMH:CA)(IVITF) is one company emerging from the pack.
Invictus MD has the largest land package across Canada strictly devoted to cultivation. Through early acquisitions and strategic development, the company has deftly secured 250 acres stretching from Alberta to Ontario, all ideal for ACMPR cannabis cultivation.
For those not familiar with Invictus MD, nimble strategy and planning is second nature to this team. Since going public in 2014, the company’s leadership has continually taken assets and turned them into serious returns for shareholders. As an example, the company paid out $1,000,000 to shareholders in December 2016. Invictus MD did this through the sale of Cannabis Health, which singlehandedly returned a 511% on investment, and the sale out of Future Harvest-Sunblaster, a horticulture lighting line, which netted the company $2,850,000. Even more impressive, Invictus MD was able to turn these profits after holding each company for less than a year.
Now, the company and its management team so adept at rapid business development are approaching the medical cannabis market full bore for what is shaping up to be a very exciting year of growth.
Invictus’ Expansive Portfolio
“Our team’s energy and focus is all going towards building our production capacity,” Larry Heinzlmeir, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Invictus, told Equities. “We are immediately focused on the Canadian market, which is tremendously large. Our goal by 2021 is to achieve a production profile of 50,000 kg of cannabis annually.”
In order to do this, the company has leveraged a strong trio of properties that all have the profiles necessary ability to support multiple strains and large-scale production. Here is a complete breakdown of Invictus MD’ cannabis platform:
Acreage Pharms Ltd. – located in West-Central Alberta, this wholly-owned 6,800-square-foot steel facility is already cultivating cannabis. The ACMPR licensed production facility utilizes a multi-room indoor perpetual growing methodology and the facility is now seeing its first harvest. The second harvest will follow the next week and subsequent harvest will occur every month following going forward. To this point, the storage vault inside the facility can account for $31.125MM in dried cannabis.
Most importantly, this 150-acre property is perfect for expansion and that is exactly what Invictus MD is doing. The company committed $6 million toward a Phase Two expansion project that will see a 27,000 square foot concrete and steel addition added to the property. The completion of this phase, which is already underway (the development plan was received and the ground was broken in July), will add 3,350kg to the company’s production capacity. In June of 2018, the final phase of the Acreage Pharms facility will see an impressive 76,750 square foot facility built on-site – subject to permitting, which will tally another 9,210 kg of cannabis per year. All said, by the end of next summer, the Acreage Pharms facility alone could have production capacity of 12,850 kg per year of medical cannabis. With Alberta’s low energy and water costs, the Acreage Pharms facility will be a key piece in Invictus MD’ goal of being one of the largest producers in Canada.
AB Laboratories Inc. – is a 16,000 square foot production facility located near Hamilton, Ontario capable of 1,000 kg of cannabis cultivation annually. Although it is a smaller space than the Acreage facility, AB Labs plays a crucial role in quality control, trimming, and drying in the space’s multiple-roomed regulated environment. Invictus MD acquired 33.3% of this facility in December 2016.
AB Ventures Inc. – in the same deal, Invictus MD also acquired 33.3% of AB Ventures, similarly located near Hamilton. The 100-acre space will eventually house a 21,000 square foot facility capable of producing 3,000 kg of cannabis annually. The Phase One expansion is estimated to be complete by the end of this year.
All told, with all three facilities at full capacity, Invictus MD estimates production to reach 17,000 total kgs by 2019 reaching up to 31,000 kgs as quickly as 2020. The company is now enjoying the fruits of their first harvest at Acreage Pharms, but this is only just the beginning.
“Following our successful harvest and by securing the development permit, with $30 million cash available and the majority earmarked for building production capacity, Invictus MD is prepared for an exciting year of growth,” stated Dan Kriznic, Chairman and CEO of Invictus MD, in July. “Led by one of the industry’s most experienced teams, we are strongly focused on building our shareholder value. With 250 acres of cultivation space allowing for purpose built production facilities rather than retrofitting existing buildings, our large land package allows for building cultivation facilities as demand increases and we will continue the disciplined but agile execution of our business strategy, and further establishing our leadership position as Canada’s cannabis company.”
The Full Scope of Invictus MD
Besides the production capacity, Invictus MD is mainly focused on quality. Each facility has been meticulously plotted regarding humidity, climate and water supply. Designers, horticulturists, biochemists and agricultural engineers are involved in the cultivation process that is focused on maximum plant nutrition and a healthy and clean end product.
An important component that allows Invictus MD to maintain and nourish the various stages of a plant’s life cycle is due to another strategic part of their portfolio: Future Harvest.
Invictus still maintains 82.5% ownership in the company that supplies the fertilizer and proprietary formulas as well as the hydroponic growing equipment ensuring that every cannabis plant is healthy and of premium quality. Most importantly, owning a majority of Future Harvest’s product line allows Invictus MD to not be dependent on other agricultural suppliers because 95% of what it sells is created in-house.
As can be seen, nothing is left to chance at any of the company’s growing facilities and with the largest land package of any ACMPR licensed company in Canada, Invictus MD is a serious force in the industry. The company is well-funded and has an experienced, business-savvy leadership team that clearly sees the road ahead for leading the pack in Canadian cannabis.
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