– Q3 revenue of $24.7 million increased 44.0% YoY and 28.2% sequentially excluding discontinued operations –

– Stronger revenue growth and margins largely driven by adult-use activation in Maryland –

– Record operating income reflects Maryland’s performance and early returns on our strategic plan, despite continued headwinds in New York –

– New York divestiture process taking longer than anticipated –

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. ("Goodness Growth" or the "Company") (CSE: GDNS; OTCQX: GDNSF), a cannabis company committed to providing safe access, quality products and great value to its customers, today reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2023. Key financial results are presented below in summary form with supporting commentary and discussion from management of certain key operating metrics which the Company uses to judge its performance. All currency figures referenced herein are denominated in U.S. dollars.

Management Commentary

Interim Chief Executive Officer Josh Rosen commented, “The strength of our third quarter results reflects a combination of benefits from our recent operational improvement initiatives and regulatory catalysts in Maryland following the launch of adult use sales in July. We are very proud of our team, who have adapted quickly to our decentralized approach to operations. These efforts and the substantial regulatory catalyst in Maryland enabled us to produce positive cash flow from operations in the quarter. De-risking our balance sheet remains a critical focus, and while we have not yet executed definitive documents related to our divestiture process in New York, we expect to do so before the end of this year and look forward to sharing more visibility into our future profitability expectations once that process is complete.”

Amber Shimpa, President and CEO of Vireo Health of Minnesota commented, “Our operational key performance indicators continued to improve during the quarter despite the seasonal challenges we experience in our greenhouse environment in Minnesota. We are encouraged by the strength of our performance in the Maryland market following the implementation of adult-use. Based on early indications, we believe we are outpacing the overall market growth in Maryland, which is an internal goal and standard by which we measure our performance. In Minnesota, we remain focused on driving better value and quality of products for patients as we move out of what is seasonally a very challenging climate for our flower production.”

Other Events

On August 14, 2023, the Company announced that it has entered into consulting, licensing and wholesale agreements with two additional dispensaries in Maryland that are owned and controlled by HA-MD LLC and currently operate under the Ethos brand name. The agreements will result in the two Ethos dispensaries in Hampden and Rockville being, upon regulatory approval, rebranded to Green Goods® and include an option to acquire the two dispensaries if and when allowed by applicable law and regulations.

On October 5, 2023, the Company announced that it completed previously disclosed warrant issuances with Grown Rogue International, Inc. Goodness Growth issued 10,000,000 warrants to purchase subordinate voting shares of Goodness Growth to Grown Rogue, with a strike price equal to C$0.317 (US$0.233), which represented a 25.0 percent premium to the 10-day volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) of Goodness Growth’s subordinate voting shares on the trading day immediately prior to the effective date of the Agreement. Similarly, Grown Rogue issued 8,500,000 warrants to purchase shares of Grown Rogue to Goodness Growth, with a strike price equal to C$0.225 (US$0.166), which represented a 25.0 percent premium to the 10-day VWAP of Grown Rogue’s subordinate voting shares on the trading day immediately prior to the effective date of the Agreement. The warrants exchanged in the agreement were issued with five-year terms to exercise.

On October 30, 2023, the Company announced that it executed a fifth amendment to its lease with its landlord on its cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facilities located in Johnstown, New York. The Company and its landlord agreed to increase the tenant improvement allowance on the lease by an additional $14.0 million, with the increase in funds to be utilized to support the completion of the construction of the Company’s indoor expansion project which was announced in September 2021. The parties also agreed to a monthly base rental increase of $210,000 beginning November 2023. Goodness Growth management stated that the amendment is intended to support the Company’s ongoing divestment process in the State of New York.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

As of September 30, 2023, total current assets were $135.1 million, including cash on hand of $13.3 million. Total current liabilities were $165.4 million.

As of September 30, 2023, including the required issuance of warrants to Grown Rogue International, Inc., the Company had a total of 143,126,330 equity shares issued and outstanding on an as-converted basis, 236,986,611 shares outstanding on an as-converted, fully diluted basis, and 153,573,359 fully-diluted shares outstanding on the treasury method basis.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Goodness Growth management will host a conference call with research analysts today, November 14, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. CT) to discuss its financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2023. Interested parties may attend the conference call by dialing 1-888-414-4585 (Toll-Free) (US and Canada) or 1-646-960-0331 (Toll) (International) and referencing conference ID number 8663261.

A live audio webcast of this event will also be available in the Events & Presentations section of the Company’s Investor Relations website and via the following link:
https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/917057239.

About Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc.

Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. is a cannabis company whose mission is to provide safe access, quality products and value to its customers while supporting its local communities through active participation and restorative justice programs. The Company is evolving with the industry and is in the midst of a transformation to being significantly more customer-centric across its operations, which include cultivation, manufacturing, wholesale and retail business lines. Today, the Company is licensed to grow, process, and/or distribute cannabis in four markets and operates 14 dispensaries in three states. For more information about Goodness Growth Holdings, please visit www.goodnessgrowth.com.

Additional Information

Additional information relating to the Company’s third quarter 2023 results will be available on EDGAR and SEDAR later today. Goodness Growth refers to certain non-GAAP financial measures such as Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) in circumstances in which the Company believes that doing so provides additional perspective and insights when analyzing the core operating performance of the business. These measures do not have any standardized meaning and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Please see the Supplemental Information and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures at the end of this news release for more detailed information regarding non-GAAP financial measures.

Contact Information

Forward-Looking Statement Disclosure

This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable United States and Canadian securities legislation. To the extent any forward-looking information in this press release constitutes “financial outlooks” within the meaning of applicable United States or Canadian securities laws, this information is being provided as preliminary financial results; the reader is cautioned that this information may not be appropriate for any other purpose and the reader should not place undue reliance on such financial outlooks. Forward-looking information contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as “should,” “believe,” “estimate,” “would,” “looking forward,” “may,” “continue,” “expect,” “expected,” “will,” “likely,” “intend,” “subject to,” “transformation,” and “pending,” variations of such words and phrases, or any statements or clauses containing verbs in any future tense. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Forward-looking information includes both known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release. Financial outlooks, as with forward-looking information generally, are, without limitation, based on the assumptions and subject to various risks as set out herein and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities Exchange Commission. Our actual financial position and results of operations may differ materially from management’s current expectations and, as a result, our revenue, EBITDA, and cash on hand may differ materially from the values provided in this press release. Forward-looking information is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management, believed but not certain to be reasonable, in light of management’s experience and perception of trends, current conditions, and expected developments, as well as other factors relevant in the circumstances, including assumptions in respect of current and future market conditions, the current and future regulatory environment, and the availability of licenses, approvals and permits.

Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, the reader should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks related to the timing and content of adult-use legislation in markets where the Company currently operates; current and future market conditions, including the market price of the subordinate voting shares of the Company; risks related to epidemics and pandemics; federal, state, local, and foreign government laws, rules, and regulations, including federal and state laws and regulations in the United States relating to cannabis operations in the United States and any changes to such laws or regulations; operational, regulatory and other risks; execution of business strategy; management of growth; difficulties inherent in forecasting future events; conflicts of interest; risks inherent in an agricultural business; risks inherent in a manufacturing business; liquidity and the ability of the Company to raise additional financing to continue as a going concern; the Company’s ability to meet the demand for flower in Minnesota; risk of failure in the lawsuit with Verano and the cost of that litigation; our ability to dispose of our assets held for sale at an acceptable price or at all; and risk factors set out in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, which is available on EDGAR with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

Supplemental Information

The financial information reported in this news release is based on unaudited financial statements for the fiscal quarters ended September 30, 2023, and September 30, 2022. All financial information contained in this news release is qualified in its entirety with reference to such financial statements. To the extent that the financial information contained in this news release is inconsistent with the information contained in the Company’s audited financial statements, the financial information contained in this news release shall be deemed to be modified or superseded by the Company’s audited financial statements. The making of a modifying or superseding statement shall not be deemed an admission for any purposes that the modified or superseded statement, when made, constituted a misrepresentation for purposes of applicable securities laws.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Goodness Growth management occasionally elects to provide certain non-GAAP financial measures such as Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA). EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure and does not have a standardized definition under GAAP. The following information provides reconciliations of the supplemental non-GAAP financial measures, presented herein to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company has provided the non-GAAP financial measures, which are not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP, as supplemental information and in addition to the financial measures that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. These supplemental non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for or as an alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with, the GAAP financial measures presented.