FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kaya Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:KAYS), filed its Quarterly report after close of market yesterday afternoon. Developments include a 76% year-over-year increase in revenues for Q-1, an approximately 50% reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses, the launch of our fourth OLCC Licensed Kaya Shack™ in Central Salem Oregon and significant progress on the licensing of our 26-acre Kaya Farms™ Marijuana Grow Complex to feed the Kaya Shack™ supply chain.
By the Numbers. We had revenues of $255,365 for the three months ended March 31, 2018, as compared to revenues of $144,861 for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The increase is largely due to the fact that in 2017 our Portland Store was unable to process recreational sales for the first quarter due to a delay in receiving our Portland City Licensing. As a result, revenues from legal recreational sales were largely generated from retail sales at one outlet during most of the 2017 period, as compared to three outlets in the comparable period in 2018. All four of the Company’s retail locations have now received full OLCC licensing.
Selling, general and administrative costs decreased to $164,088 for the three months ended March 31, 2018, as compared to $344,415 for the three months ended March 31, 2017. This decrease reflects the fact that some of the expenses associated with this category have decreased over time due to investments made in the corresponding period for 2017.
We opened another Kaya Shack™ Marijuana Superstore. Our fourth Kaya Shack™ is located in North Salem, Oregon in a strip mall directly behind Carl Jr. and Popeye’s Chicken restaurants and alongside a microbrewery sports bar, laundromat, and Hawaiian sandwich shop. The area around the shop is primarily commercial with residential complexes to be constructed in 2018. It has a footprint of approximately 3100 square feet and utilizes the Kaya Shack™ Marijuana Superstore model. We believe the store completes our geographic penetration of the Salem, Oregon market. We received Kaya ShackTM OLCC Marijuana Recreational Retailer License #4 on February 15, 2018. After various construction and permitting delays, on April 12, 2018 the location opened for business with both recreational and medical sales.
Kaya Farms™ Medical and Recreational Marijuana Grow and Manufacturing Complex. On April 20, 2018 the Company was notified by the Linn County, Oregon Planning and Building Department (the “Department”) that the site plan review for the indoor and outdoor marijuana portion grow operation on the 26.50-acre property (which encompasses approximately 86,000 square feet of the Company’s 101,000 square feet of the Company’s submitted buildings) had been approved. However, the conditional use permit for marijuana processing (which encompasses approximately 15,000 square feet of the Company’s 101,000 square feet of the Company’s submitted buildings) had been denied, largely due to the scale and coverage of the proposed processing operation. Additionally, local residents have requested a hearing to appeal the approval of the site plan based on concerns that a portion of the approved site plan that supports the 36,000 square feet of green houses for outdoor growing is not eligible for the Irrigation rights that the Company possesses for the Property.
The Company reviewed its site plan for the indoor and outdoor marijuana operation on the 26.50-acre property which encompasses approximately 86,000 square feet of the Company’s 101,000 square feet of the Company’s submitted buildings application with the Department, and is confident that the Company’s water usage plan (as already submitted prior to the Department’s approval of the site plan) is legal and will withstand any appeal. However, the Company is planning a large Complex to address its supply chain for both recreational and medical products which it intends to operate well into the future, and welcomes the opportunity to address any concerns of the neighboring residents. Additionally, the Company intends to submit a new application for its conditional use permit for marijuana processing that it believes adequately addresses the concerns addressed by the Department.
Financing Update. During the first quarter the Company reached an agreement with the Cayman Venture Capital Fund, its Institutional Financing Lender which to date has provided KAYS with approximately $5.3 million in capital through loans and restricted stock purchases, to increase the total amount of funding tied to its Current Financing Agreement to a total of $7.75 million (of which approximately $5.8 million remains), and extend all debt until January 1, 2020 so that available cashflow can be utilized for development of the Company’s business plan. Additionally, the Company has begun to develop access to other sources of long term investment capital, some details of which are in the 10-Q.
“We believe this Q represents the beginning of our tipping point toward profitability”, stated Kaya Holdings CEO, Craig Frank. “We always believed that if we were to grow the company organically, as opposed to through acquisition, we would have to establish a significant retail base for access to end customers, control our production to control costs and selection, and establish brands with sufficient distinction to stand out in a crowded field. This Q report shows that we have succeeded in establishing our retail base, have a brand that is being embraced and have secured some of the licenses we need to control production. As we continue to develop and execute our business plan we will remember this period as the time it all came together”.
A copy of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending March 31, 2018, complete with pictures, complete information on the zoning and licensing status of the status of the 26-acre parcel which it has targeted for development of the Kaya Farms™ Medical and Recreational Marijuana Grow and Manufacturing Complex, as filed with the SEC, is available online at www.sec.gov.
To see video of the Kaya Farms™ (Architect’s Project Rendition) please go to: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3po31ksdilcl9l9/Kaya_Farms%20Final.mp4?dl=0
To see video of the Kaya Shack™ OLCC Licensed Stores please go to: https://www.dropbox.com/s/49i5emi3wc0ha0d/Store%20Tour%20Final%20%28hi-res%29.mp4?dl=0
About Kaya Holdings, Inc. (www.kayaholdings.com)
KAYS (OTCQB:KAYS), through subsidiaries, produces, distributes or sells legal premium medical and recreational cannabis products, including flower, concentrates and oils, and cannabis-infused foods.
In 2014, KAYS, became the first publicly traded company to own and operate a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. KAYS presently operates four Kaya Shack™ OLCC licensed marijuana retail stores to service the legal medical and recreational marijuana market in Oregon (www.kayashack.com). Additionally, KAYS recently acquired a 26 acre parcel which it has targeted for development of the Kaya Farms™ Medical and Recreational Marijuana Grow and Manufacturing Complex.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: KAYS is planning execution of its stated business objectives in accordance with current understanding of State and Local Laws and Federal Enforcement Policies and Priorities as it relates to Marijuana (as outlined in the Justice Department's US Attorney General Jeff Sessions Memo dated January 4, 2018, and subsequent commentary from US Attorney for the District of Oregon Billy Williams), and plan to proceed cautiously with respect to legal and compliance issues. Potential investors and shareholders are cautioned that KAYS and MJAI will obtain advice of counsel prior to actualizing any portion of their business plan (including but not limited to license applications for the cultivation, distribution or sale of marijuana products, engaging in said activities or acquiring existing Cannabis production/sales operations). Advice of counsel with regard to specific activities of KAYS and MJAI, Federal, State or Local legal action or changes in Federal Government Policy and/or State and Local Laws may adversely affect business operations and shareholder value.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect" or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, acceptance of the Company's current and future products and services in the marketplace, the ability of the Company to develop effective new products and receive regulatory approvals of such products, competitive factors, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.
For more information contact Investor Relations: 561-210-7664