Verus International Signs 3rd U.S. Distributor – Provides CEO Update
Gaithersburg, MD, July 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verus International, Inc. (“Verus” or the “Company”) (OTC Pink: VRUS), an international food, CBD and hemp-based products company, is pleased to announce that it has signed its 3rd U.S. distributor for its Pachyderm CBD and Waffles hemp-based product lines. The Company continues to see increasingly strong demand for these lines, with a growing backlog of orders in both product categories. Verus is currently in the process of building out its U.S. sales in an effort to increase its access to working capital.
CEO Update
At the mid-point of 2021, CEO Andy Dhruv is pleased to provide the following update:
“Those of you who have spoken with me know that I am frank and to the point, so today’s update will feature that tone. When I took over Verus just four and a half months ago, I came to a company that seemed to have a cloud over its head that would not go away. As Verus experienced closures by its key customers, suppliers, and transportation lines during long stretches of 2020 due to the pandemic, I arrived here with no illusions about the difficult decisions that would be necessary in the early stages of this turnaround.”
“I had a very well-defined road map to return this company to health and to regain a significant amount of shareholder value. That plan included stabilizing the debt, rationalizing current costs and future commitments by rightsizing the operations, and adding new high margin product lines, with a fourth stage to include some pre-arranged M&A. I have largely completed the first three of these action items as I enter month five of my plan.”
“Turnarounds are hard work and I have been successful in reducing and pushing out some of our debt obligations far enough to give us some breathing room, but the job isn’t over yet. I started this process with a well-established distribution network and expertise in high-margin CBD products already in hand, so I had visibility on the kind of growth trajectory I could achieve by leveraging those two key categories.”
“What I did not anticipate, just two months into my tenure, was the filing of shake down lawsuits, which have been accompanied by a drumbeat of more than 50 negative press releases in the last two months. Those of you who know how this game is played understand these short-seller-style tactics, but it is nonetheless disconcerting to investors and partners to be subjected to this kind of unrelenting attack. The sad irony for Verus is that these copycat lawsuits have hurt existing shareholders significantly by delaying our pre-arranged M&A track into the future.”
“While the company fights these lawsuits, this scenario forced me to take a different fork in the road, the one that led to a much longer and harder journey where I must organically grow our way back to health. I begrudgingly committed to that path months ago, starting with some new product lines and with some trade show help selling from our distributor’s booths to create demand. I typically leave every trade show with significant orders in hand, so these shows are the lifeblood of our growth. We are very excited to be attending the upcoming Champs show in Las Vegas, Nevada at the end of this month, where we will have our products displayed with one of our major distributors. If history stays true to form, we expect to have an even larger backlog following this event, which is our current conundrum, as we have far more orders than we can currently produce due to working capital constraints.”
“The Company is at a pivotal point in our turnaround where obtaining working capital is essential, in order to convert our growing demand into a cycle of quick turnaround orders that can rebuild our balance sheet and fund future growth. Our backlog is almost exclusively for products with payment terms of two weeks or less and margins at least two to three times higher than our traditional food business, so the path to improved financials is now visible. In our most recent quarter, our gross margin reached 23%, 1,100 basis points higher than the 12% generated as recently as Q4 2020.”
“I can’t undo the past at Verus nor can I guarantee ultimate success in this turnaround, but I can assure every shareholder that I would not have taken on this task if I didn’t believe I could create a viable, profitable business. I appreciate the help and concessions I have received from vendors, distributors and even creditors during this turnaround period, which has given us a second chance. I invite any interested investor or potential partner to visit us at Champs Booth #4119 in Las Vegas, Nevada (July 27th through July 30th) to learn more about our new product lines and strategy.”
About Verus International
Verus is an emerging multi-line consumer packaged goods (CPG) company developing branded product lines in the U.S. and on a global basis. The Company trades on the OTC market (OTC Pink: VRUS). Investors can find real-time quotes and market information for the Company on . Additional information is also available at the Company’s website, , and via the official Twitter feed @Verus_Foods, and the Pachyderm Labs subsidiary Twitter feed @PachydermLabs.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are identified by the use of the words “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “continue,” “predict,” “potential,” “project” and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these plans, objectives, expectations or intentions will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience and present expectations or projections. Actual results could differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and the trading price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly. Forward-looking statements also are affected by the risk factors described in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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