Good morning, welcome to Nova Cannabis Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2022 financial results conference call. Yesterday, Nova issued a press release announcing their financial results for fourth quarter ended on December 31st, 2022. This press release is available on the company's website at novacannabis.ca and filed on SEDAR as well. The webcast replay of the conference call will also be available on the Nova website. Presenting on this morning's call, we have Marcie Kiziak, Chief Executive Officer, and Cam Sebastian, Chief Financial Officer. Before we start, I would like to remind investors that certain matters discussed in today's conference call or answers that may be given to questions could constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. Risk factors that could affect results are detailed in the company's financial reports and other public filings that are made available on SEDAR. Additionally, all financial figures mentioned are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. We will now make prepared remarks, then we'll move on to analyst questions. I would now like to turn the call over to Marcie Kiziak. Good morning, everybody, and thank you for joining us for Nova's full year and Q4 2022 earnings call. Before I get into our results, I want to start today's call with a thank you to the store and head office teams. Your contributions have solidified our leadership position, and the passion and dedication of our teams has helped the Value Buds model stand out in a competitive marketplace. We take great pride in the fact that our leadership team is made up of 46% female, 35% male, and 19% identifying as gender-diverse people. Our team brings us together unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, driving greater innovation and customer understanding. Maintaining a diverse workforce is crucial for Nova to serve the needs and preferences of a wide range of customers. As I embark on my second year as the CEO of Nova, I strongly believe the Value Buds model is positioned for long-term success, which our full year and fourth quarter results highlight. Through further consolidation and price stabilization in 2023, Nova is well-positioned to emerge as a leader in the cannabis retail space. Building on the consistent momentum we've demonstrated throughout the year, Nova posted record revenue of CAD 61.4 million, a 29% increase from the fourth quarter of 2021, and a 4% increase from the third quarter of 2022. Our annual revenue totaled CAD 226.4 million, a 68% increase from the CAD 134.4 million in 2021. Our revenue increase is accompanied by a greater growth margin growth as we started to adjust pricing in areas where the competitive pressures have waned. This, along with the successful launch of our private label products, gives us levers to drive future growth margin growth as we capture greater market share. The Value Buds brand enables Nova to develop higher growth margin offerings, build customer loyalty, and long-term brand awareness. The private label strategy focuses on keystone segments, specifically large format, uniquely curated for the Value Buds consumer, and drives meaningful differentiation through the retail network. Private label sales represented approximately 3% of our Alberta retail sales in the fourth quarter of 2022. Private label margins are approximately 5% higher than comparable competitor products. Since launch, Value Buds private label sales made up 12% of the total 28-gram sales and 36% of the 14-gram sales for the period ended December 31st, 2022. One of the two flavor blends, Cookies and Kush, was the best-selling SKU in the 28-gram and 14-gram formats through the period ending December 31st, 2022. Tropics and Haze was the second best-selling SKU in the same categories. We are thrilled that our private label launch has not only generated accretive margin growth but also a positive response from our consumers. Nova currently operates 91 stores, an increase of seven stores since September 30th, 2022, and 14 stores since the beginning of 2022. While our total store growth for the year is less than we initially projected, our same-store sales and new store openings are performing as expected and in many cases, exceeding our expectations. Same-store sales have increased 2.7% in Ontario and 1.8% in Alberta in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the third quarter of 2022. Nova's market share has increased to 26.4% in Alberta and 7% in Ontario in the fourth quarter of 2022 from 18.9% and 2.1% during the same period in 2021, respectively, based on management's estimates using industry data available. Nova has added 3 stores to date in 2023, one in Alberta and two in Ontario. Our approach to new store openings will continue to be calculated and hyper-focused on the current market conditions and real estate, which is complementary to the Value Buds strategic pillars. As I've noted in previous quarters, as retailers come up for renewal on their leases, we expect there to be significant turnover this year, which presents strategic opportunities for Nova to grow through acquisition where it aligns with our business objectives. We will continue to pursue opportunities based on the quality of the real estate and the potential of attractive economic returns while avoiding unsustainable valuations. We expect to realize additional savings through the 2023 year on our annual rent run rates through lease turnovers or cancellations on unopened or non-operational leases. In certain instances, we may recognize opportunities to generate revenue and address market challenges by utilizing unopened or non-operational leases to explore new venture opportunities. These opportunities, along with our proposed strategic partnership with SNDL, will contribute to our retail growth pipeline in 2023. The proposed agreement with SNDL, as announced in December 2022, positions Nova for strategic growth and expansion through our retail operations. Pending completion of the Nova reorganization agreement, SNDL will vend 32 stores to Nova, primarily operating under the Spiritleaf, Superette, and Dutch Love banners located in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. The Nova reorganization will increase the company's store footprint by more than 35%. The agreement creates a well-capitalized cannabis retail platform through a vertical integration model leveraging SNDL's upstream and midstream capabilities. The restructuring of Nova, if approved by Nova's minority shareholders, will provide Nova a low-cost operating platform, enhanced SG&A savings, strong balance sheet and enhances our multi-banner strategy. The Nova team will manage operations of the cannabis retail platform, positioning us to thrive and focus on growth and profitability in the coming years through this world-class cannabis retail platform. Before Cam discusses our fourth quarter and year-end results, I'd like to close by sharing some information on our partnership with ReWaste. This partnership helps address the excessive plastic waste generated by the strict packaging requirements for cannabis products in Canada. Value Buds retail locations have diverted over 10,200 pounds of waste from landfills to date, as measured and reported by the ReWaste team, equivalent to nearly 180,000 containers, 700,000 doob tubes or 850,000 mylar bags. Value Buds has also procured over 550 pounds of doob tubes made from recycled materials, helping to promote a circular economy. We plan to release our second upcycled accessory in the second or third quarter of 2023. I am proud to share that Value Buds is often used as an industry benchmark for cannabis waste diversion in the retail sector, and we have the opportunity to lead sustainable practices in Canadian cannabis by promoting widespread adoption of waste diversion and upcycling in the industry. We are proud of our team's effort and impact through this initiative and hope to encourage our peers to help drive a more sustainable cannabis industry. Our fourth quarter and year-end results prove the value of our strategy. I am proud to progress this year and determined to build on our success in 2023. I will now pass to Cam to cover our full earnings financials. Thank you, Marcie, and good morning, everyone. Let's discuss Nova's fourth quarter and year-end 2022 financial results. I want to remind you that all amounts discussed today are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. Certain of the quarterly and yearly comparisons I will be referencing are for the prior quarters or measured against the previous year, and sequential, quarterly and yearly comparisons may provide additional context considering Nova's rapid growth and expansion over the past two years. In the fourth quarter of 2022, as Marcie highlighted, sales increased 29% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 to CAD 61.4 million, an increase of 4.2% over the third quarter of 2022. Year-over-year revenues have increased CAD 92.1 million, or 68%, resulting in total revenue of CAD 226.4 million for the year ended 2022. The increase is primarily due to the 14 retail cannabis stores that were opened in 2022 and the increased sales from stores that were rebranded to the Value Buds discount banner at various times throughout 2021 and 2022. Nova now has a total of 91 retail locations operating, including three opened in 2023. Value Buds are among the most productive in the country, resulting in 2022 annual revenues of approximately CAD 2.8 million per average number of doors open in the year. We believe this exceeds the average revenue per store for competing stores in the provinces in which we operate, validating our business model and strategy. Gross margin for the year was CAD 43.9 million, up CAD 19 million, or 76% from CAD 24.9 million in the prior year. 2022 sales revenues include CAD 5.5 million from data licensing sales, which have no direct associated costs and represent a 400% increase from 2021. The gross margin as a percentage of sales was 19.4% for the year ended 2022, compared to 18.5% in 2021. Gross margins in the fourth quarter of 2022 were 20.8%, up from the fourth quarter of 2021, where gross margins were 17.7%. While we continue to observe price compression in markets we serve, we also see select opportunities for accretive margin expansion in key trade areas. As Marcy noted, we have begun to adjust pricing in areas where competitive pressures have waned to unlock greater gross margin growth. Overall margin strategy and performance continues to reflect the brand's strategy to sell good cannabis more affordably to its consumers. Adjusted EBITDA, defined as operating profit before depreciation, impairment, transaction, restructuring and other costs for the three months ended December 31st, 2022 was CAD 3.2 million, compared to CAD 2.5 million for the third quarter of 2022, resulting in an increased quarter-over-quarter Adjusted EBITDA and positive Adjusted EBITDA of CAD 9.2 million in 2022, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of CAD 2.6 million for the year ended 2021. These increases are primarily a result of the increases in sales and gross margin for the year and quarter ended December 31st, 2022. For the year ended 2022, the company recorded a net loss of CAD 11.2 million compared to a CAD 20.6 million net loss for the prior year. Now turning to liquidity and capital resources. For the year ended December 31st, 2022, cash used in operating activities was CAD 0.1 million compared to CAD 10 million in the prior year. Cash provided in the fourth quarter of 2022 was CAD 2.8 million compared to the fourth quarter of the prior year, where there was a CAD 0.6 million cash used in operating activities. The change in year-over-year cash used and quarter over cash provided from operating activities reflects the success of our strategic plan to sustainable profitability. During the year, cash used in investing activities was CAD 8.4 million, a CAD 4 million decrease from the CAD 12.4 million cash used in investing activities in the prior year. This decrease resulted from a reduced level of construction related to new store openings year-over-year. In the year, cash provided by financing activities was $ 3.0 million, reflecting cash provided from the revolving credit facility, offset by the principal portion of lease payments. Nova has an uncommitted revolving credit facility with our partner SNDL Inc. During the second quarter of 2022, Nova and SNDL agreed to increase the aggregate principal amount of the credit facility to $ 15 million, and at December 31st, $8. 7 million was outstanding on the facility. On March 28th, 2023, $ 11.1 million in principal and accrued interest was outstanding on the revolving credit facility, and the company has approximately $4 million of cash on hand. The revolving credit facility has a maturity date of April 30th, 2023. This maturity date has not been extended by SNDL at this time. We believe that Nova has adequate liquidity to satisfy its cash requirements until the expected amendment of the Nova SNDL strategic partnership, at which time Nova will receive an additional $ 10 million in liquidity from a new credit facility. In addition to the credit facility, on July 22nd, 2022, the company announced the establishment of an at-the-market equity offering program or the ATM program. It allows Nova to issue up to $20 million of common shares from treasury to the public at the discretion of the company and subject to regulatory requirements. To date, the company has not accessed the ATM in a material way due to market conditions. It remains available as a source of capital if required. Balancing growth with greater profitability and cash flow generation remains a key priority for Nova in 2023. We are extremely pleased to have achieved another year and quarter of accretive growth in retail doors and positive cash flow from operations compared to the prior year and quarters. I would like to turn the call back to Marcie for closing remarks. Then we will open the floor for analyst questions. Thank you. In closing, I want to express my gratitude for our team's exceptional performance in the fourth quarter and throughout 2022. Our unwavering focus on operational efficiency and commitment to long-term profitability has propelled us forward, even in the face of challenging retail conditions. I'm extremely proud of the results we continue to achieve, and I firmly believe that we are on the cusp of even greater opportunities in the industry. By focusing on our core strengths and investing in our people and processes, we expect to unlock continued value for our shareholders. With the proposed agreement with SNDL, I am confident that Nova is on the right course for 2023. I will now turn the call back to the operator for analyst questions. We will now begin the analyst question and answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tone acknowledging your request. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing any keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. We will pause for a moment as callers join the queue. The first question comes from Ty Collin with Eight Capital. Please go ahead. Good morning, Marcie and Cam. Thanks for the question. Maybe wanted to start off on the same-store sales growth. Obviously some pretty impressive numbers in both Ontario and Alberta in the Q4. Can you just help me understand what's driving that? Maybe what proportion of that was due to the pricing you took, what came from store traffic? Do you see room for continued same-store sales growth throughout 2023, despite the price pressure that Cam was speaking to? Sure. Thanks for the question, Ty. A couple of things that are happening right now. Firstly, in Ontario, we're not seeing the same length of time in terms of ramp up that we historically have. Really have got a good amount of customer loyalty and brand recognition in Ontario, which is really helpful. We go back to, you know, a couple of calls ago, we said that we were still struggling to get a bit of a foothold and to get some brand recognition. Now, you know, we get inbound requests from customers asking when we're gonna open in their area. You know, we can see that people are starting to travel a little bit to shop in our stores, which is great. That's really helpful. Again, brand recognition making a pretty considerable difference in Ontario. In Alberta and Ontario both, part of it has to do with the amount of focus we've put on our core selection in the last couple of months. Really looking at what the consumer is looking for, what's moving, where the trends are going. I think that that has made a pretty considerable difference. We've always been very focused on our inventory and making sure that we're not sitting on obsolete inventory. We've been pretty careful with respect to inventory up until now, but now looking at it even deeper with the lens of, you know, how many day sales do we think we have, what's moving, where are customers moving to, and making sure that we're not making purchasing decisions that don't reflect what they're looking for. I think that's driving a good amount of repeat sales. You know, as always, we talk about making sure that we're meeting the customer where they are and, you know, continue to focus on staff training and employee training to make sure that we're providing the best possible experience to customers. All of those things combined are driving the continued energy around the store and in-store sales. Cam, anything you'd like to add? I would just add that, we've added 11 new stores since the end of Q2, and those are now entering the same store category. There's a shift between, new stores and established stores, and so we're seeing that come into the metric for same-store sales, and it's certainly helping because the new ones are very additive to the equation. Okay, great. That's helpful color there. Marcie, you spoke to some of the success you're really starting to see in Ontario. Could you speak to what you're seeing the competition do in Ontario? I'm thinking particularly those on the value end of the spectrum. There's, you know, obviously been a lot of retailers that try to follow your pricing model. Have they been able to sustain that, or are they starting to throw in the towel or starting to claw back some pricing like you are? Just wondering what the other value players in Ontario are doing now. Sure. We're seeing, certainly seeing, the industry's paying a lot of attention to when we look at our pricing, anytime that we make a, an increase or a reduction in pricing and are following, and we're still continuing to see that to some degree. We are starting to see a little bit of price matching drop off, which was a bit interesting for us. We're not necessarily seeing as much of that. I mean, we're seeing it being done somewhat geographically. That's also making a difference. No, we are actually starting to see our competition. We're starting to see, some increases. We're starting to see a little less, like I said, price matching, we're also starting to see stores drop off, right? As we said, we would expect to see both in Alberta and Ontario. All of that is helpful. Okay, great. That's really helpful. Maybe last one for me before I jump back in the queue. Could you talk about what you're seeing in terms of commercial lease rates in Ontario and Alberta? Are those significantly higher than your existing lease rates? What proportion of your leases are coming up for renewal in the next year or two? Yeah, it's a great question. I mean, certainly what, you know, we saw what would have been a cannabis premium, you know, five, six years ago, even maybe four years ago. We're certainly not seeing that cannabis premium necessarily anymore, which is helpful. And, you know, in Alberta in particular, certainly lots of conversation around lease rates, as well as around vacancy rates, particularly in the large municipalities that are still not having a great time bringing people back into business and back into the large municipalities. I'd say, I mean, pretty stable. We're not seeing significant increases across the board, which is helpful. And we're looking at new real estate at a much more reasonable rates in both Alberta and Ontario. In terms of leases that are coming up for renewal, it's not a considerable, it's not a significant amount. We've always made really good decisions around real estate. Again, we go back to having the legacy of having the liquor business to rely on for trends. You know, we don't have a swath of leases that we signed that we should not have five, six years ago. We aren't experiencing what a lot of the industry is right now. Majority of what we're seeing come up for the Nova leases are leases that we would renew and that we would continue to want to operate in those locations. Great. Thanks for the questions. I'll jump back in the queue. Thanks, Ty. The next question comes from Frederico Gomes with ATB Capital Markets. Please go ahead. All right, good morning, Marcie and Cam. Congrats on the quarter. Thanks for taking my questions. My first question is on your gross margins. You saw a material expansion this quarter. Just two points there. First, you know, how much of that expansion is due to, you know, an easing of the competitive landscape, and how much of that do you think is due to changes in mix and your private label program? You know, do you think that maybe seasonality, you know, the holidays had any impact on margins this quarter? Then the second point there is just, you know, do you think that margins will continue to improve at that same, you know, rapid pace throughout this year? Thank you. Great. Thanks, Frederico. A couple of things to talk about. You know, I talked earlier about the margin strategy around the core assortment and around making sure that our core assortment, it makes a lot of sense. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we're just being much more strategic, in particular in terms of how we're managing our core assortment. Really stripped it back and then, you know, looked at what made sense. Then again, as always, looking at the categories to make sure that we're appropriately managing the margins within the categories, you know, within, you know, good, better, best and value categories. I would say it has a lot to do with continuing to be very strategic. You know, the buying patterns are starting to become very clear when, you know, they've evolved certainly as, especially as innovation has evolved, but the buying patterns are becoming very clear. It's allowing us to make some good decisions there and determine what people are buying and when and how. A lot of it has to do with that. Some of it certainly does have to do with private label. You know, our private label, as I mentioned, was a top seller at the end of 2022 and continues to be a very great seller, and we continue to expand private label to have more offerings that make sense for our core consumer. All of those things combined really are what's driving the strategy and driving the performance. Certainly we are seeing a reduction in stores. Again, particularly, and we feel it more in Alberta, you know, when you see stores close, just it's not quite as vast. That is also contributing. Okay. Yes. Thanks for that. On your data sales, you know, we know that LPs, they're they continue to see, you know, headwinds and many of them are cutting costs. Do you think, you know, that could potentially have, you know, a negative impact on your data sales this year, you know, and also obviously on the margins as well? Great question. I don't think so. You know, it's hard to argue with the volume that runs through Value Buds stores. I say that it, you know, sure, you know, it's perfectly reasonable that LPs are cutting back on costs, but I think they're just, you know, also being more strategic about where they're putting their dollars. You know, and again, the volume that runs through Value Buds is important. Because we're doing a very strategic job of managing what SKUs get listed in the stores, that also makes a big difference because we can be very focused, and make sure that we're driving the appropriate performance on both sides for LP and for retail. Cam, anything to add? No, I think that's fair. It's, if anything, we've seen an increase in inbound requests for data sales agreements. We're broadening our scope on that side of the equation. I don't see that being an issue. Okay. Thank you. Last one for me, just on your, you know, store, footprint store expansion, you're looking at about, you know, maybe potentially 120 stores, if and when, you know, the restructuring with SNDL closes. In addition to that, you expect, you know, to continue to expand in the second half of the year? Or is there any, you know, target in terms of number of stores that you plan to exit 2023 with? We've seen, some of your competitors, you know, pausing growth this year. I'm just curious, you know, on your perspective there. Thank you. Sure. You know, I mean, it varies by province, I'd say. You know, what you're seeing with the restructure and the result of that is some expansion into other provinces, which will be helpful for us. Also gives us an opportunity to really take a good look at some of those provinces and how they're performing and what growth might look like there. There's certainly that. You know, there's, you know, as we say, pretty much every quarter, the number of inbounds continues to grow from retailers who are looking to exit the market. Certainly still seeing lots of inbounds coming in. It's a bit hard to say because, again, we're going to be very focused on what makes sense. We're gonna be very focused on real estate that continues to drive performance and make sense, and watching our target markets really, really closely to see, you know, who's entering, who's leaving the market. Alberta's a tougher one because, again, we don't have a lot of levers to pull with inventory. We have to be very strategic and very resourceful in terms of how we move things around. We're very careful to make sure that we're making the right decisions in Alberta. Like I said, you know, the opportunity for us to expand into some other provinces is now is now real and will give us an opportunity to decide what makes the most sense there. In terms of an actual number, difficult to say, but what I can say is that, you know, we're always very cautious and conscientious about making sure that we're doing the right things for our shareholders, and that also includes making the right real estate and the right acquisition decisions. Okay. Thank you. Congrats again, and I'll hop back with you. Thanks, Frederico. Once again, if you have a question, please press star then one. That is all the questions that we have for today. This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.