Akerna Reports 55% Year-Over-Year Billings Growth For Seed-To-Sale Software Platform

The cannabis compliance technology provider Akerna Corp KERN reported revenue of $11 million in fiscal 2019 on Monday, a 4.2% increase on the year. 

The company's net loss grew from $2.5 million in fiscal 2018 to $12.3 million. The jump was attributed to an increase in operating expenses from $8.6 million in fiscal 2018 to $18.7 million in fiscal 2019, driven by legal, audit and other expenses related to the merger of MJ Freeway and MTech that created the current company.

In addition, the company had about $3.9 million in non-cash, stock-based compensation expenses stemming from issuances of common stock to employees in connection with the merger, Akerna said. 

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The company's seed-to-sale enterprise resource planning software, MJ Platform, saw year-over-year growth in monthly billings of 55%, according to Akerna. 

Akerna's gross profit margin of 58% was unchanged over 2018. The company said it had approximately $21.9 million in cash as of June 30. 

"As cannabis legalization continues to expand, we believe Akerna is well positioned to serve the increasing compliance needs of enterprise cannabis companies. Complementing this, our government software solution provides unparalleled seed-to-sale tracking capabilities," CEO Jessica Billingsley said in a statement.

"These capabilities were a key factor in our recently being awarded the government contract in Utah. We believe transparency is critical, as regulatory requirements will only grow to ensure patient, public, and product safety."

The stock was rallying by 10.76% to $8.85 in Monday's after-hours session. 

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Akerna CEO Jessica Billingsley speaks Aug. 15 at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Detroit. Photo by Dustin Blitchok.