Charlotte’s Web Holdings’ Q4, full-year results show DTC growth
CBD market leader Charlotte’s Web Holdings concluded a big year with solid revenue gains in both its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 results, with particular success in direct-to-consumer sales. For the quarter, the Boulder, Colo.-based company reported $26.9 million in revenue — a 17.9% increase over the prior-year period. For the full year, total revenue for the company was $95.2 million, up from $94.6 million in 2019.
The company’s full-year direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales increased by 27.6% and comprised 67% of its total revenue. For the quarter, direct-to-consumer sales grew 21.2% year over year, contributing 64% of the company’s Q4 revenue. The company posted a full-year adjusted EBITDA loss of $20.2 million, with a $2.1 million loss for the quarter, marking an improvement over its 2019 Q4 adjusted EBITDA loss of $6.7 million. While the full year saw business-to-business revenues drop by 29.5% overall, the fourth quarter saw business-to-business revenue up by 12.7%.
"We turned a challenging start to 2020 into a strong finish, taking multiple actions and outperforming much of the competitive set to extend our brand and market share leadership," said Deanie Elsner, CEO of Charlotte's Web. "We filled product and channel gaps with competitive offerings and advanced the science of hemp CBD through CW Labs and collaborative studies with top-tier institutions. We have now protected our intellectual property with 5 patents awarded for our proprietary cultivars and have defended our trademarked Charlotte's Web brand through a recent judgement.”
Among the big moves from the company over the course of 2020 was its acquisition of Abacus Health, which made it the market-share leader in CBD topicals, as well as its more recent launch of CW Labs, a dedicated research and development division to advance hemp science clinical studies. Over the course of 2020, the company’s distribution grew from 10,000 doors to more than 22,000 unique retail doors. In the fourth quarter, Charlotte’s Web commenced Phase 3 extraction infrastructure and R&D expansion in a new 137,700-sq.-ft. facility in an effort to build out its production capacity to meet expected growth. The company closed the year as the market share leader in food drug and mass, as well as U.S. specialty retail and the direct-to-consumer channel.
As it eyes this year, Elsner said the company would be focused on expanding int cannabis wellness and partnering to support its growth.
“In 2021 we are positioning for long-term growth and shareholder value creation as we evolve towards establishing Charlotte's Web as a leading global botanicals wellness company by expanding into cannabis wellness where federally permissible,” he said. “To support our international growth we have an exclusive agreement with one of Israel's largest medical cannabis producers, and in the U.S. we secured future optionality through a strategic option to acquire Stanley Brothers cannabis business pending U.S. federal legalization of cannabis."
