Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc., a diversified and fully integrated health and wellness company focused on plant-based, sustainable and purpose-driven lifestyle brands, today announced that, following the Company’s establishment of a Strategic Review Committee in August of calendar year 2021, the Board of Directors has approved a comprehensive action plan presented by Neptune’s management team to unlock shareholder value.
The action plan includes short-term and long-term cost-cutting initiatives and the immediate reorganization of Neptune’s operations and resources, which are estimated to generate annual cost savings of over $10 million USD ($12.5 million CAD) and streamline operations. Following approval by the Board of Directors, management today implemented and executed the following actions:
“Following the Board approval of our proposed action plan, we immediately began implementing key initiatives with a renewed focus on our most promising brands, streamlining Neptune’s management structure and eliminating non-core operations,” stated Michael Cammarata, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neptune Wellness. “We are really proud of the progress we’ve seen in the rollout of our cannabis brands, Mood Ring and PanHash, as well as the growth of Biodroga, which is underpinned by our patented MaxSimil technology. For Sprout, we continue to increase our retail footprint and anticipate a successful CoComelon™ product launch by the end of the year. We intend to prioritize the continued success of these brands, and, in addition, we are focused on streamlining Sprout’s operations and improving supply chain efficiency. We believe that our action plan will lead to immediate and recurring cost savings, as well as allow us to focus on our product lines and brands with high margin growth potential. Management will continue to evaluate Neptune’s strategic position and operational priorities on an ongoing basis to ensure it maximizes shareholder value.”
Interim CFO Randy Weaver added, “We expect each of the prioritized brands and product lines to contribute positively to Neptune’s results with limited additional investment. For our cannabis vertical, in particular, we took a hard look at the right strategic direction for the company. Over the last year, our cannabis business in Canada has achieved improved efficiencies and steadily increased its revenue since changing to branded products. We now expect that our cannabis business, with limited additional capital investments, will begin making positive contributions during the second quarter of fiscal year 2023 and will be an important part of our larger growth strategy. Additionally, we continue to actively evaluate potential acquisition candidates across each of our verticals that fit with our strategic vision and tactical objectives, while positively contributing to our short-term performance. As always, we remain open to strategic partnerships which allow us to increase shareholder value.”
Management will provide more detail on the plan during the Company’s Fiscal Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results Conference Call scheduled for today at 5:00 PM EST. The call will be webcast and can be accessed at www.investors.neptunewellness.com. To listen to the live call, please go to the website at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The webcast will be archived for approximately 90 days.
About Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc.
Headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Neptune is a diversified health and wellness company with a mission to redefine health and wellness. Neptune is focused on building a portfolio of high quality, affordable consumer products in response to long-term secular trends and market demand for natural, plant-based, sustainable and purpose-driven lifestyle brands. The Company utilizes a highly flexible, cost-efficient manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure that can be scaled to quickly adapt to consumer demand and bring new products to market through its mass retail partners and e-commerce channels. For additional information, please visit: https://neptunewellness.com/.