Avant Brands Inc. has successfully completed a facility-wide lighting retrofit at its largest cultivation site, The Flowr Group Okanagan Inc., located in Kelowna, B.C. The project replaced traditional high-pressure sodium fixtures with energy-efficient LED lighting across 100% of the flower rooms, aiming to enhance cultivation quality while reducing operational costs. The initiative was supported by funding from a Government of British Columbia energy efficiency incentive program.

The retrofit covered the entire 80,000 square foot facility, including above- and below-canopy installations. Mobilization began in late December 2025, with above-canopy work completed in January 2026 and under-canopy installations finished in February 2026. Full controls commissioning was achieved by March 2026. The actual project cost was approximately $1.93 million, which is more than 28% under the original $2.70 million estimate. Incentive funding of up to $2 million will offset a substantial portion of this capital expenditure, with 90% provided upon completion and the remaining 10% following measurement and verification.

Project Highlights and Financials

The transition to LED lighting is expected to generate significant annual savings due to lower power consumption and reduced HVAC cooling requirements. Metered results already indicate year-over-year reductions in electricity usage and drops in peak demand. Additionally, the upgrade is projected to avoid up to 36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions annually.

Norton Singhavon, Founder & CEO of Avant Brands, stated that executing the retrofit under budget and ahead of schedule demonstrates the company's commitment to capital discipline. He emphasized that leveraging non-dilutive government incentives has fundamentally upgraded the core infrastructure, which is expected to lower utility and HVAC expenses while supporting premium cannabinoid and terpene production. The project is anticipated to improve unit economics and drive long-term margins.

Final measurement and verification processes are currently underway to secure the remaining incentive tranche. The company confirmed that cultivation quality and yield were protected throughout the transition period.

Avant Brands reported a narrowed net loss for the second quarter, with earnings per share improving to $(0.24) from $(0.38) in the same period last year. Despite this reduction in losses, the company experienced a decline in revenue, signaling ongoing challenges in top-line growth. The financial results highlight the company's efforts to manage profitability amid a contracting sales environment.

The company recorded sales of $9.165 million for the quarter, representing a 5.38% decrease compared to $9.686 million in the prior year. The drop in revenue contrasts with the improvement in per-share losses, suggesting that cost management measures may have contributed to the narrowed deficit. The specific drivers behind the revenue decline were not detailed in the report.

Financial Performance Summary

The following table outlines the key financial metrics for the reported quarter compared to the same period last year:

The 36.84% improvement in EPS indicates that the company is moving toward profitability, even as sales figures show a downward trend. Investors will likely focus on future quarters to see if the company can reverse the revenue decline while sustaining the progress made on reducing losses.