Did Rua (NZX:RUA) build solid foundations for growth in FY21?

Highlights

• Rua Bioscience achieved many goals in FY21.
• The Group invested $1.9 million in R&D and finished FY21 with net assets of $28.8 million.
• Rua continues to invest in developing its product portfolio and creating processes in its cultivation and manufacturing operations.

Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX:RUA) is an NZ-based pharmaceutical company that aims to be a top producer of cannabinoid-derived medicines.

Rua’s mission is to maximise the ability of the evolving medicinal cannabis industry to enhance health, heal lands and rebuild affluence to indigenous communities.

Image source: © 2021 Kalkine Media New Zealand Ltd, Data source- EODHD/Others

Rua developed valuable partnerships, processes and invested in people that are required to develop a sustainable medicinal cannabis business model in FY21.

FY21 Highlights

Rua ended FY21 with net assets of $28.8 million, which included $16.4 million of total cash and investments. The Group’s investment in R&D stood at $1.9 million in 2021.

Its total investment in property, plant and equipment stood at $6.17 million. The key areas of this investment were Rua’s cultivation centre in Ruatorea and its extraction and manufacturing facility in Gisborne.

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Rua’s most significant achievement to date occurred in October 2020, when the firm was listed on the NZX. The IPO was oversubscribed, raising $20 million in additional capital to assist the company's next stage of expansion and support achieving sustainable revenue and accelerate growth.

A Glance at Rua’s achievements

The Company achieved many goals like securing commercial licence and supply partners, signing a sales deal with a distributor in Germany, building facilities, working towards regulatory compliance, and developing IP. Rua has also had the advantage of being able to use New Zealand's horticultural tradition to generate value from plant cultivation and genetics in order to establish export strategies from seed to sale.

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In June this year, Rua also announced a 2-year research programme with the University of Waikato. Under the programme, the usage of hyperspectral technology in the farming and evaluation of medicinal cannabis will be examined.

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On 28 September, Rua revealed that it had got the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification from Medsafe. This would allow Rua to begin the production of cannabinoid oil, Rua’s first medicinal cannabis product.

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The Group believes that some regulatory changes like subsidies for cannabis-derived medicines, ACC and MSD funding of legitimate medicinal cannabis prescriptions for their clients, availability of low-dose CBD as a pharmacy-only medicine, etc., would benefit a profitable, sustainable and patient-focused NZ industry.

On 1 October, at the time of writing, RUA was trading flat at $0.415.

Bottom Line

Rua continues to finance its next stage of growth, build long-term resilience and fast-track growth through IPO proceeds. The global cannabis testing industry is expected to be worth around $2.5 billion by 2025, propelled by global demand for medicinal cannabis.

(NOTE: Currency is reported in NZ Dollar unless stated otherwise)