UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
☒
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the fiscal year ended August 31 , 2024
☐
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the transition period from ______ to ______
Commission
file number 001-41738
PINEAPPLE
FINANCIAL INC.
(Exact
Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Canada
Not
applicable
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)
(I. R. S. Employer
Identification No.)
Unit
200 , 111 Gordon Baker Road
North
York , Ontario M2H 3R1
(Address
of principal executive offices, including ZIP code)
(416)
669-2046
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:
Title
of each class
Trading
Symbol
Name
of exchange on which registered
Common
Shares, no par value
PAPL
NYSE
American
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2)
has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule
405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant
was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting
company, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller
reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large
accelerated filer
☐
Accelerated
filer
☐
Non-accelerated
filer
☒
Smaller
reporting company
☒
Emerging
growth company
☒
If
an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If
securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant
included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation
received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act) Yes ☐ No ☒
As
of August 31, 2024 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed year end), the aggregate market
value of the registrant’s common shares held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $ 4.313 million, based on the closing price
on that date as reported on the NYSE American LLC.
Number
of shares of common shares outstanding as of December 19, 2024 was 8,808,019 .
Documents
Incorporated by Reference: None .
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Part
I
Item
1.
Business
1
Item
1A.
Risk Factors
17
Item
1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments
34
Item
IC.
Cybersecurity
34
Item
2.
Properties
34
Item
3.
Legal Proceedings
34
Item
4.
Mine Safety Disclosures
34
Part II
Item
5.
Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
34
Item
6.
[Reserved]
35
Item
7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
35
Item
7A.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
4 9
Item
8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
5 1
Item
9.
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
51
Item
9A.
Controls and Procedures
51
Item
9B.
Other Information
51
Item
9C.
Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
51
Part III
Item
10.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
52
Item
11.
Executive Compensation
5 8
Item
12.
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
61
Item
13.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
62
Item
14.
Principal Accountant Fees and Services
6 3
Part IV
Item
15.
Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules
64
Item
16.
Form 10-K Summary
64
Signatures
65
i
CAUTIONARY
NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This
Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange
Act”). Any statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future
events or performance are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. These statements are often, but not always, made through
the use of words or phrases such as “believe,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,”
“intend,” “plan” and “would.” For example, statements concerning financial condition, possible or
assumed future results of operations, growth opportunities, industry ranking, plans and objectives of management, markets for our common
stock and future management and organizational structure are all forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees
of performance. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements to differ materially from any results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied
by any forward-looking statement.
Any
forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the risk factors discussed throughout this Annual Report on
Form 10-K. Some of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections
contained in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
●
the
timing of the development of future services,
●
projections
of revenue, earnings, capital structure and other financial items,
●
statements
regarding the capabilities of our business operations,
●
statements
of expected future economic performance,
●
statements
regarding competition in our market, and
●
assumptions
underlying statements regarding us or our business.
The
foregoing list sets forth some, but not all, of the factors that could affect our ability to achieve results described in any forward-looking
statements. You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents that we reference herein and have filed as exhibits to
the Annual Report on Form 10-K, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from
what we expect. You should assume that the information appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is accurate as of the date hereof.
Because the risk factors referred to on page 17 of Annual Report on Form 10-K could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially
from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and except as required by law, we
undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement
is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to
predict which factors will arise. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any
factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
We qualify all of the information presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and particularly our forward-looking statements, by these
cautionary statements.
ii
SUMMARY
OF RISK FACTORS
Our
business is subject to numerous risks described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. The
main risks set forth below and others you should consider are discussed more fully in the section entitled “Risk Factors”
beginning on page 17, which you should read in its entirety.
● our operations could be adversely affected by possible future government legislation, policies and controls or by changes in applicable laws and regulations;
● public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic may adversely impact our business;
● the volatility of global capital markets over the past several years has generally made the raising of capital more difficult;
● risks associated with political instability and changes to the regulations governing our business operations;
● our success is largely dependent on the performance of our directors and officers, Field Agents, and employees;
● our Common Shares may be subject to significant price volatility;
● internal controls cannot provide absolute assurance with respect to the reliability of financial reporting and financial statement preparation;
● we may be unable to manage our growth;
● risks associated with security breaches;
● risks associated with software errors or defects;
● our operations depend on information technology systems; and on continuous reliable internet access;
● our business now or in the future may be adversely affected by risks outside our control;
● risks associated with the Company’s reliance on strategic partnerships;
● reputational risk, and
● risks associated with protection of intellectual property.
iii
ITEM
1. BUSINESS
General
We are a Canadian-based mortgage technology and brokerage company that provides mortgage brokerage services and technology solutions to
Canadian mortgage agents, brokers, sub-brokers, brokerages and consumers. Through data-driven systems together with cloud-based tools,
we believe we offer competitive advantages in the Canadian mortgage industry relative to alternative mortgage broker arrangements.
We also
provide back office services, together with pre-underwriting support services (collectively the “Brokerage Services”) to Canadian
mortgage brokerages (the “Brokerages”). In connection with the provision of the Brokerage Services, we employ and engage several
licensed mortgage brokers and agents (collectively, “Field Agents”). We have a total of full-time employed staff of 55. In
addition, we also enter into affiliation agreements with certain licensed mortgage brokers (collectively, “Affiliate Brokers”
and, together with Field Agents and Brokerages, the “Users”), pursuant to which the Company and the Affiliate Broker enter
into an affiliation relationship with the intention of jointly marketing mortgage brokerage and other financial services as affiliated
entities, sometimes referred to as “white labelling”, which allows the Affiliate Broker to sell a mortgage that is branded
with its company name to its own client base.
Our services distribution and fee structure for each stream is detailed hereunder:
1.
The fee for the subscription
service revenue stream is $117 for use of our platforms by our agents to complete the mortgage deal from initiation to funding by the
lender partner and is about 3% of total gross revenue.
2.
Our pre-risk assessment services
revenue is about 1.3% of our total gross revenue and the structure for this service is $390 per deal for a mortgage funded amount of
$390,000 and over. For a mortgage funded amount under $390,000 the fee is $273.
3.
The balance of our total
gross revenue at 95% comes from our lender partner service commissions and the structure varies by rate and amount based on the season,
special promotions at that particular time, bonus applicable, funded volume, etc. The lender partners comprise of banks, trust companies,
mortgage loan companies, building societies and other lending financial institutions, including but not limited to the Bank of Nova
Scotia (Scotiabank), Manulife Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank), The Mortgage Alliance Company of Canada Inc. (MCAP),
First National Financial LP, Home Trust Company, The Equitable Trust Company (Equitable Bank), ICICI Bank Canada and Desjardins Mortgage
Financing Services.
We currently operate exclusively in Canada, specifically in the provinces
of Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Alberta. We launched
our first brokerage in Ontario in November 2016. We have been approved by each of the applicable provincial mortgage regulators to operate
in 11 provinces and territories namely Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova
Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Yukon, and 1 provinces to follow is Saskatchewan. We launched our first brokerage office
in Alberta on July 1, 2021. We also launched our first brokerage office in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
Prince Edward Island on May 4, 2022. We launched our first British Columbia brokerage office in 2024. We provide our Brokerage Services
to both residential and commercial mortgage opportunities and, in each case, through a proprietary technology called MyPineapple, as discussed
in further detail below.
MyPineapple
At
the heart of our Brokerage Services is an innovative technology system, MyPineapple, that provides real time data management and reporting,
lead generation opportunities, customer relationship management, deal processing, education and knowledge center, payroll, regulatory
compliance, data analytics, document collection and storage, automated onboarding, lender access, back office support and direct underwriting
support, all in one. MyPineapple offers network management capabilities for Users, including hundreds of qualified Field Agents, to create
an efficient marketplace for the provision of mortgage lending and insurance industry services. MyPineapple integrates directly with
Salesforce, Equifax, OneSpan, G Suite and Filogix and manages Users’ day-to-day business through automated triggers and tasks,
ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Backed by Salesforce, pursuant to the Salesforce Agreement (defined herein), and built with
proprietary code deep data analytics, MyPineapple syncs up with Users’ calendar and emails, produces robust reporting, advanced
analytics, and real-time notifications on marketing communications, and more. MyPineapple is a sophisticated and fundamental tool for
revenue growth and relationship development. It plays a significant role in what we believe makes our Brokerage Services distinct and
cutting-edge.
MyPineapple
was created to address key issues within the mortgage brokerage industry. We built MyPineapple to create a long-term competitive advantage
relative to traditional service providers, who have comparatively high-touch, labor intensive and costly operations. We believe that,
through MyPineapple, we are able to deliver faster services and with fewer errors. Our MyPineapple platform is completely automated,
simplifying the mortgage process while providing efficiencies to and alleviating pressure on Users’ staff in completing traditional
administrative tasks, which in turn reduces the Users’ cost structure and results in increased profit margins and scalability.
MyPineapple reduces manual processes through robust quality control mechanisms, logistics management capabilities, capacity planning
tools and end-to-end transaction management. MyPineapple also includes a leading education technology platform, which enables Users to
continuously stay informed and educated on what mortgage solutions and market conditions could impact Canadian consumers.
1
Our
primary objectives and goals include, but are not limited to, the following:
●
Grow
our mortgage broker distribution channel to gain further market share and consumer adoption, including increasing organic (non-acquisition
related) market share and to achieve growth on the number of mortgages funded annually;
●
Become
the go-to mortgage experience platform for mortgage agents, lenders and homebuyers;
●
For
Pineapple Insurance to provide an insurance option for all our mortgage approvals;
●
To
ensure that we are providing a well-rounded and custom-tailored approach to insurance solutions that may best suit the clients’
needs;
●
To
leverage the power of our growing database and brand recognition to open further insurance opportunity channel; and
Streamline
the insurance approval and application process for mortgage clients using technology.
Services
and Products
Brokerage
Services
The
following is a detailed description of the Brokerages Services that we offer:
1.
Mortgage
Brokering: We employ and engage a number of licensed Field Agents who originate clients, provide mortgage consultation services,
advise clients on the various mortgage products offered by financial institutions in Canada, offer clients access to rate information
and mortgage options from a range of lenders, including major banks and lending institutions and assist clients in selecting the
most appropriate and effective mortgage solution for their particular needs.
2.
Technology:
MyPineapple is a full spectrum, robust and comprehensive technology system, which allows Users to conduct their brokerage services
more effectively and efficiently. Amongst other things, MyPineapple syncs up with Users’ calendar and emails, produces robust
reporting, advanced analytics, and real-time notifications for email opens, and link clicks. MyPineapple also provides Users with
cloud storage. We also provide marketing support to Users in order to systematically manage the marketing process, segmentation and
client conversions. We ensure that all clients stay well informed with highly relevant information; it also increases the conversion
ratios and engagement metric for its Users. This provides Users the ability to focus on higher probability clients and deliver a
high level of value and service while the system manages the relationship with others.
3.
Back
Office Support Services: Through MyPineapple, we offer our Users back office support services, including digital and automated onboarding
and set up, loan packaging and processing, digital document collection and client portals, loan maintenance activities, payroll,
lender communication, reporting requirements for regulators and business management, cloud services, expense collections, document
preparation, compliance, training, administration and marketing.
4.
Pre-Underwriting
Support: Technology enabled and together with back-office support, we offer our Users pre-underwriting support services that establish
appropriate qualifying processes in a mortgage application, providing borrowers a digital environment ensuring mortgage agents has
the necessary data and providing borrowers with an instant pre-qualification. We use our diverse exposure to the mortgage industry
to save Users from spending valuable resources on mortgage applications that have fewer chances of reaching approval. In particular,
we offer our Users the following pre-underwriting services, aimed at speeding up the underwriting process and helping mortgage lenders
make accurate decisions:
●
Credit
Review: We verify all information that is supplied by the client in vital loan documents and other personal information. Thereafter,
we meticulously review client credit records and tax return documents to ensure the client has the required financial stability to
make monthly payments for the mortgage. We follow checklist-based system to ensure that all the critical aspects pertaining to underwriting
are covered.
2
●
Data
Validation: Our pre-underwriting support services include recording and digitizing our findings in the data validation process. By
digitizing these vital information sets about the client, we are able to establish the accuracy and speed needed to expedite the
underwriting process.
●
Fraud
Analysis and Compliance: We pride ourselves in diligently checking for identity fraud and ensuring that applications are compliant
and contain complete information. Our mortgage experts have the experience and acumen to spot missing or mala fide information. This
obviates the need for the underwriter to send client files back for incomplete information and thereby speeds up the underwriting
process. Our fraud analysis encompasses all aspects of the client file review process including running third-party reports. This
ensures the underwriter has to focus only on decision-making.
●
Appraisal
Ordering and Review: We take charge of title ordering and dispatching verified property information to the appraiser to boost the
turnaround times of the appraisal process. Once the appraisal is over, we carefully review the appraisal report to ensure that the
process has been completed in a fair and error-free manner.
●
Data
Analytics: Through MyPineapple, we are able to use data to analyze customer benefit opportunities as they become available. In particular,
MyPineapple allows us to utilize the data that has been acquired through the mortgage approval process along with real time real
estate and credit data to thereby reduce costs and overall debt process timelines.
Insurance
Products
Pineapple Insurance Inc. is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Pineapple Financial Inc. This entity is to serve the insurance needs of our brand mortgage brokers and agents across
Canada. Pineapple Insurance is to act as an Managing General Agent (MGA) supported by Industrial Alliance. This entity will create
both a revenue channel and retention strategy for borrowers that live within our database. This will also allow a growth opportunity
and an overall holistic financial services opportunity for us. We are currently in the early stages of development of Pineapple
Insurance Inc. Operational infrastructure and a budget has been prepared alongside technology modifications to our MyPineapple
system in order to manage the delivery of this product. We have also created a sales and marketing plan alongside assets and
materials, which will be used for initial launch. Our next steps are staffing and human capital requirements in order to execute on
the business plan and goals of developing Pineapple Insurance.
Pineapple
Insurance provides the following services:
●
We
will complete a needs analysis on each client to ensure the most suitable product to meet both their needs and their goals. In our
product suite, we will offer term life insurance which will provide a low-cost coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited
period of time for the life of the mortgage. The goal of this product is to ensure that in the event of the insurer’s untimely
death with their term policy their beneficiaries will be covered in the amount of the policy during the life of the term. No insurance
will be paid to the beneficiary should the insured pass away after the end of the term or if the insured did not make the required
payments.
●
Whole
Life Insurance is a life insurance policy which is guaranteed to remain in force for the insured’s entire lifetime, provided
required premiums are paid, or to the maturity date. In addition to paying a death benefit, whole life insurance also contains a
savings component in which cash value may accumulate on a tax-advantaged basis. The policies can be leveraged as collateral or an
asset with our lenders through the Company.
3
●
For
both our personal and our business clients, we offer permanent life insurance policies, which offer a death benefit and cash value.
The death benefit is money that is paid to your beneficiaries when you pass away. Cash value is a separate savings component that
you may be able to access while you are still alive. Permanent insurance can help cover the business owner for their entire life.
And unlike term insurance, it includes the potential for a cash accumulation fund. Investments in the fund are tax-preferred, including
at death when the tax-free death benefit is paid out to a named beneficiary. An additional benefit of permanent life insurance is
that allocating funds in a corporation away from taxable investments to a permanent life insurance policy can help reduce overall
annual taxable investment income. Permanent life insurance lasts from the time you buy a policy to the time you pass away, as long
as you pay the required premiums. The policies can be leveraged as collateral or an asset with our lenders through the Company.
●
Critical
Illness Insurance provides additional coverage for medical emergencies like heart attacks, strokes, or cancer. Because these emergencies
or illnesses often incur greater-than-average medical costs, these policies pay out cash to help cover those overruns where traditional
health insurance may fall short and help cover living expenses while the client recovers. These policies come at a relatively low
cost. However, the instances that they will cover are generally limited to a few illnesses or emergencies. The key element is to
ensure that the mortgagor does not fall behind in their mortgage payments.
●
Credit
Insurance is a type of life insurance that can cover the remaining amount of your loan in the event of your death. Your insurance
company will use the death benefit to pay down or pay off the remaining balance on the loan, up to a maximum amount outlined in the
certificate of insurance. The money from your death benefit will go to your creditor. The money will not go to your family or beneficiaries.
We
offer a wide range of investment options to suit clients risk tolerance and investment preferences. A financial advisor will review and
assess the needs of each client to determine the short- and long-term goals for financial success. Such options may include segregated
funds or mutual funds for registered (registered education savings plans (RESPs), registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), tax-free
savings accounts (TFSAs), etc.) and non-registered accounts. A segregated fund, or seg fund, is a type of investment fund administered
by Canadian insurance companies in the form of individual, variable life insurance contracts offering certain guarantees to the policyholder
such as reimbursement of capital upon death and mutual funds. As a regulatory requirement, all Canadian mortgage approvals being presented
by the mortgage broker channel must include the option for a client to consider an insurance option in an effort to protect the liability
in the case of death or disability. Pineapple Insurance Inc. will be presenting this insurance option for a client to accept or not via
the products that we have available. This will be presented to all mortgage approvals being offered via our parent company, Pineapple
Financial Inc.
As
a complementary service to our parent company, Pineapple Financial Inc., this insurance subsidiary was created to easily serve the needs
of the homeowners whose mortgages originate with us. With any mortgage product in Canada, an insurance component is a requirement, hence
the diversification and business development into insurance.
Our
insurance services identified above currently are provided by a third-party insurance company, Industrial Alliance Inc., with whom we
are affiliated as a managing general agent (MGA). We, therefore, act as an agent earning commissions from the premiums charged by the
insurance company.
We
believe the material steps for Pineapple Insurance to grow form its early stages of development are as follow:
1.
To
introduce the services offered by Industrial Alliance and to serve the Users on our platform, MyPineapple, is to market these services,
create a knowledge base for them to understand and pass on the learning to their customers, create a support structure for both Users
and Users’ customers.
2.
Set
up an internal infrastructure for the management and offering of these services i.e. hire a senior management person to manage the
operational affairs and thereafter additional personnel, as needed when the business grows. The additional personnel will be mostly
sales commissionable personnel with a retainer.
Pineapple
Insurance officially launched in October 2024, marking a significant milestone in Pineapple Financial’s diversification strategy.
The costs anticipated for Pineapple Insurance are largely tied to marketing efforts, human capital, and platform development. Human capital
costs include a fixed expense for senior leadership, along with variable costs for additional personnel as the business scales. With
the strategic integration of Pineapple Insurance into the MyPineapple platform, our development costs are aimed at ensuring seamless
client experiences and operational efficiency. We estimate that approximately 15% of the proceeds from the shares offering will be allocated
to support the continued growth and scaling of this business vertical.
The
growth timeline for Pineapple Insurance is projected at 12 to 24 months post-launch, reflecting strong initial demand and the effectiveness
of our comprehensive go-to-market strategy. This timeline is contingent upon the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, customer adoption
of the services offered by Industrial Alliance, and the competitiveness of pricing and premiums. The early success of our launch indicates
promising customer acceptance, supported by focused efforts to educate users on product variations and benefits. These efforts are expected
to accelerate market penetration and drive sustained growth for this subsidiary.
4
InsurTech
MyPineapple
is a key reason for our success and has the ability to drive interested and timely insurance prospects to a replicated module that we
have built in order to streamline and manage the customer flow for insurance products. The process is designed to create a unique synchronicity
between the client obtaining a mortgage approval and insurance approval.
Combined,
the simplicity of the two platforms with its connectivity and integrations will allow Pineapple Insurance to successfully process and
approve insurance applications.
We
have also created client segmentations and retention programs to ensure that we can maximize our database of over 150,000 potential clients.
Growth
Strategy
Brokerage
Services
We
aim to gain further market share and consumer adoption by focusing on the following areas of growth:
1.
Increase
Agent Revenue From Optimized Analytics: We will continue to analyze past borrower data to determine opportunities to beneficially
re-service them in the future, potentially creating revenue generating activities and significantly enhancing the borrower experience.
2.
Added
Product Suite - Insurance. As discussed above, we are establishing an insurance channel that provides borrowers with a full suite
of insurance products, which we believe will increase revenue.
3.
National
Expansion: We expect to continue to expand our business and operations into current jurisdictions along with new provinces such as
British Colombia and Quebec.
4.
Borrower-Facing
Technology. We believe MyPineapple will be a marketplace where clients can select from a variety of mortgage products that will suit
their individual needs while tracking the progress and status of the transaction for the life of the mortgage and beyond.
Insurance
Products
In
order to achieve our objectives and goals, Pineapple Insurance will focus on four main areas:
1.
Insurance
originations: Our files will be obtained exclusively through the Pineapple Financial referral network. This will be achieved through
technology integration where Pineapple Insurance agents are immediately notified of a mortgage approval which requires an insurance
option. Our agents will be highly trained in an effort to service the growth of our referral network. Consistency in service level
and approach is key to building our brand.
2.
Emphasizing
core values: Servicing our clients, maintaining relationships, ongoing and continued support, education and training, ongoing lines
of communication between mortgage agent and insurance agent and ensuring a smooth and efficient closing process. We expect our agents
to conduct themselves with the highest level of professionalism and carry out the fundamental and core values of Pineapple Insurance
at all times.
5
3.
Hiring
and training insurance agents: We will follow and adhere to strict hiring and training policies as set out in our training manuals.
Development of education and training programs working in conjunction with our partners. Ensuring that we are consistently working
on recruiting top performing insurance agents that will be able to meet the growth and scale of the needs of the Company.
4.
Technologies
and relationship management tools: We will be replicating and customizing our robust MyPineapple system for data transfer and client
management. This will be broken into the following areas:
●
Operational
Excellence: notifying insurance agents at the optimal time to increase conversion metrics and customer satisfaction. Integration
of client data so the process is convenient for all involved parties. Visibility of status and automations of workflow and requirements;
●
Client
Relationship Management (CRM): Advancing client relationships towards application indication, application completion and client retention;
and
●
Acquisition:
marketing funnels to leverage the overall database and identity opportunities from older missed opportunities.
Markets
for our Services
Brokerage
Services
The
clients for our Brokerage Services include mortgage agents, brokers, sub-brokers, brokerages and consumers. Our customer activity is
intrinsically linked to the health of the real estate or commercial markets generally, particularly in Canada.
Strong
housing demand during 2020, 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 positively impacted the seasonal variations. With the onset of inflationary
pressures around the globe, not only the seasonality but the normal trends of the housing markets have declined with the increase of
interest rates. Although our business may be negatively impacted, we believe our multiple channels of revenue helps to mitigate any such
impact.
In alignment with the Canadian government’s
commitment to improving housing affordability and accessibility, several new housing measures have been introduced to support homeowners
and first-time buyers. These include enabling homeowners to refinance their mortgages to construct secondary rental suites and borrowing
up to 90% of their home’s value with a 30-year amortization period. Additionally, the mortgage insurance price limit has been increased
to $2 million, ensuring broader access to financing across Canada’s diverse housing markets.
The government has also proposed consultations on
taxing vacant land to encourage development and incentivize landowners to build homes. Collaboration with provinces, territories, and
municipalities is underway to implement these measures effectively. Starting December 15, 2024, two key rules will further aid affordability:
30-year mortgage amortizations will become available to all first-time homebuyers and buyers of new-build properties, and the price cap
for insured mortgages will rise to $1.5 million from $1 million.
Moreover, the federal government has expanded the
Canada Public Land Bank by adding 14 underused federal properties, bringing the total to 70. These properties across major cities are
slated for affordable housing developments. This initiative supports the government’s broader plan to unlock public lands for housing
and address the growing demand for homes while strengthening Canadian communities.
These measures, alongside the influx of new immigrants
and the rising demand for home renovations, refurbishments, and innovative financing solutions, create a favorable environment for Pineapple
Financial Inc. to continue expanding its offerings and capitalizing on these growth opportunities.
Insurance
Products
The
insurance market for Pineapple Insurance is focused around growth in the Canadian mortgage landscape as well as market share growth for
Pineapple Financial.
●
Real
estate investors: we are able to consolidate multiple mortgage amounts into one insurance policy to help minimize risk if an investor
has multiple properties.
●
Residential
Home purchase: with Canadian housing prices hitting all-time highs, we will help clients provide insurance to fill the gap between
their current coverage and the mortgage amount
●
Refinance:
can help clients reduce existing coverage or apply/consolidate if they require additional coverage.
●
Reverse
Mortgage: these clients can use the income from the reverse mortgage to help plan their final expense through insurance as well as
enrich their retirement years.
6
●
Switch:
transferring to another lender at renewal. The insurance we offer is not tied to the lender directly and can assist clients in locking
in their rates long term when they can still qualify for insurance
●
Renovation
and construction: Clients will be able to access their cash values in their permanent insurance policies to help fund their renovations
and construction projects. If additional financing is required, we can provide the added insurance coverage needed.
●
Self-Employed:
As large numbers of Canadians move into business for themselves, we have found a great need for an insurance product that can suit
their needs since they generally do not have a company benefits plan. Income protection will also be a key component of our business
here.
●
Commercial
Mortgages: We can provide the proper insurance to clients for the right amount of coverage and timeline for one or multiple investors.
Coverages can go up to $20 million.
●
Private
Lending: Customized insurance can be provided to private lenders who may have a different set of circumstances in terms of investment
type and timeline horizon.
●
High
Risk Health & Uninsurable: We can offer guaranteed issue insurance to clients who may have declining health or were previously
declined for insurance in the past.
Pineapple
Financial Inc. and Mortgage Market Dependency
As
of November 2024, Canada’s mortgage market continues to demonstrate resilience despite ongoing challenges. According to the Bank
of Canada, the total residential mortgage market is valued at over $1.6 trillion, driven by population growth, increasing borrower demand,
and evolving consumer sentiment. This figure excludes mortgages held by provincially regulated entities such as credit unions and mortgage
investment corporations.
Mortgage
lenders offer a broad range of products, including fixed and variable rates, varying terms, and flexible amortization periods. Recent
interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada have rejuvenated the market, improving affordability for new buyers and creating opportunities
for existing homeowners to refinance or renew at more favorable terms. The practice of negotiating discounted rates remains prevalent,
highlighting the importance of mortgage brokers in securing competitive deals for clients.
Mortgage
brokers are critical intermediaries, leveraging their volume-based bargaining power to erode lender price discrimination and secure advantageous
rates. These professionals are provincially regulated and must meet stringent licensing and training requirements. While the barriers
to entry remain relatively low, successful brokers rely on experience, negotiating skills, and technological support to thrive in an
increasingly competitive market.
Key
trends currently influencing the market include:
● Renewals
Surge: Over 30% of Canadian mortgages are expected to renew within the next 12 months,
a significant driver of market activity.
● Housing
Shortages: A growing population, combined with limited housing supply, has led to increased
pressure on the market, with demand consistently outstripping available inventory.
● Government
Policies: Recent adjustments, such as the introduction of a 30-year amortization period
for insured mortgages and incentives for affordable housing, have bolstered consumer
confidence and created new opportunities.
● Consumer
Sentiment: Improved confidence, spurred by rate cuts and stabilizing economic conditions,
has increased buyer activity despite affordability challenges.
● Technology
Adoption: Platforms like MyPineapple are transforming the brokerage landscape
by streamlining processes and providing brokers with data-driven tools to enhance efficiency
and client satisfaction.
Industry
Growth Strategy
Our
growth strategy focuses on organic expansion , targeting increased market share through:
1. Recruitment:
We have successfully recruited a significant number of Field Agents and Users ,
driving a growth rate higher than many competitors. By leveraging detailed insights into
competitive models, we have tailored our value proposition to attract and retain top talent.
2. Technological
Integration: Our proprietary platform, MyPineapple , empowers brokers with tools
to increase sales volume, productivity, and efficiency. This system also supports the seamless
integration of complementary services, such as insurance products , creating additional
revenue streams and enhancing the overall client experience.
3. Policy
Alignment: By aligning our offerings with government initiatives to support housing affordability
and address shortages, we have positioned ourselves as a key player in addressing critical
market needs.
4. Focus
on Renewals and Refinances: With a large portion of the mortgage market up for renewal
in the next year, we have tailored solutions to help brokers optimize their client retention
and capitalize on refinancing opportunities.
Our
strategy is underpinned by a commitment to delivering superior value, leveraging data and insights to support broker success, and maintaining
flexibility to adapt to evolving market conditions. This approach ensures we remain a leader in the Canadian mortgage and brokerage industry.
Recent
Development
On
May 10, 2024, the Company entered into an equity purchase agreement (the “EPA”) with Brown Stone Capital Ltd., a corporation
organized under the laws of England and Wales (the “Selling Shareholder”) pursuant to which the Company shall issue and sell
to the Selling Shareholder, from time to time as provided herein, and the Selling Shareholder shall purchase up to Fifteen Million Dollars
($15,000,000.00) of the Company’s common shares and issue 200,000 Company’s common shares as a commitment fee under the EPA
to the Selling Shareholder (collectively as the “EPA Shares”) at purchase price to be determined as per the terms and conditions
of the EPA. The Company shall have the right, but not the obligation, to direct the Selling Shareholder, by its delivery to the Selling
Shareholder of a put notice from time to time, to purchase the EPA Shares (i) in a minimum amount not less than $10,000.00 and (ii) in
a maximum amount up to the lesser of (a) $1,000,000 or (b) 150% of the average trading volume of the Company’s common shares on
the NYSE American during the five (5) Trading Days immediately preceding the respective put notice date multiplied by the lowest daily
volume weighted average price of the Company’s common shares on the NYSE American during the five (5) trading days immediately
preceding the respective put notice date. The Company’s right to issue a put notice for the EPA Shares is subject to general terms
and conditions as stipulated under the EPA, including there being an effective registration statement covering the EPA Shares.
7
Pursuant
to the EPA, we may issue and sell up to $15 million of Common Shares to the Selling Shareholder. The price at which we may issue and
sell shares will be 95% of the lowest daily volume weighted average price of the Company’s Common Shares on the NYSE American during
the five (5) trading days immediately preceding the respective put notice date, in each case as reported by Quotestream or other reputable
source designated by the Selling Shareholder (the “Market Price”). Assuming that (a) we issue and sell the full $15 million
of Common Shares under the EPA to the Selling Shareholder, (b) no beneficial ownership limitations, and (c) purchase price for such sales
is $0.40 or $0.50 per share, such additional issuances would represent in the aggregate approximately 37,500,000 or 30,000,000 additional
Common Shares, respectively, or approximately 81% or 77% of the total number of Common Shares outstanding as of the date hereof, after
giving effect to such issuance. If the beneficial ownership limitation is not waived, we may issue approximately 269,480 Common Shares,
or approximately 19.99% of the total number of Common Shares outstanding as of the date hereof.
The
Market Price of our Common Shares on December 13, 2024, was $0.45. Assuming this is the Market Price used as a basis for the
calculations for the put notice under the EPA, the price per share for sales to the Selling Shareholder would be $0.43 (95% of the
Market Price), and we would be able to sell 269,480 shares to the Selling Shareholder (with beneficial ownership limit), and receive
gross proceeds of $115,876 such number of shares would comprise approximately 19.99% of our issued and outstanding Common
Shares, which would result in additional dilution of our shareholders.
In
relation to the EPA Shares the Company has entered into a registration rights agreement dated May 10, 2024 (the “RRA”) with
the Selling Shareholder, requiring the Company to register the EPA Shares issued under the EPA. Pursuant to the RRA, the Company has
agreed to file one or more registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission covering the registration of the EPA Shares.
Concurrently,
on May 10, 2024, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “SPA” and together with the EPA and the RRA
as the “Agreements”) with the Selling Shareholder, pursuant to which the Company has agreed to sell to the Selling Shareholder
a convertible promissory note (the “Note”) in the aggregate principal amount of $300,000, with an 8% per annum interest rate
and a maturity date of twenty four (24) months from the date of the issuance. The Note is convertible into the Company’s common
shares, no par value, subject to the terms and conditions therein, and a conversion price of equal 75% of the VWAP on the trading day
immediately preceding the respective conversion date, subject to adjustment as provided in the Note. The issuance of the Note is subject
to general terms and conditions as stipulated under the SPA, including the requirement of getting shareholder approval for any issuance
of common shares beyond the beneficial ownership limit of 19.99%.
As
an incentive to buy the Note, the Company had agreed to issue warrants to purchase 1,000,000 common shares (the “2024 Warrants”),
with an exercise price of $5 per share and term of nine (9) months from the date of issuance.
As per terms of the agreement, issuer of convertible debt exercise their right and the total principal portion $300,000 plus the interest
accrued thoron $4,437 was converted into common shares by issuing 501,874 common shares.
The
equity line of credit has had no immediate impact on our business. However, it positions us to draw capital for growth initiatives as
our share price increases, enhancing our ability to fund strategic investments and operational expansions. No assurances can be given
that the stock price will increase.
Conditions
Precedent to the Right of the Company to Deliver a Put Notice
Selling
Shareholders’ obligation to accept Put Notices that are timely delivered by us under the EPA and to purchase of our Common Shares
under the EPA, are subject to satisfaction of the conditions precedent thereto set forth in the EPA, all of which are entirely outside
of Selling Shareholders’ control, which conditions include the following:
●
the
accuracy in all material respects of the representations and warranties of the Company included in the EPA as of the Put Date;
●
the
Company having paid the cash commitment fee or issued the Commitment Shares to an account designated by Selling Shareholder;
●
the
registration statement that includes this prospectus (and any one or more additional registration statements filed with the SEC that
include Common Shares that may be issued and sold by the Company to Selling Shareholder under the EPA) having been declared effective
under the Securities Act by the SEC, and Selling Shareholder being able to utilize this prospectus (and the prospectus included in
any one or more additional registration statements filed with the SEC under the RRA) to resell all of the Common Shares included
in this prospectus (and included in any such additional prospectuses);
8
●
the
Company obtaining all permits and qualifications required by any applicable state for the offer and sale of all Common Shares issuable
pursuant to such Put Notice, or will have the availability of exemptions therefrom;
●
the
Board of Directors approving the transactions contemplated by the EPA and RRA, which approval will remain in full force;
●
there
will not have occurred any event and there will not exist any condition or state of facts, which makes any statement of a material
fact made in the registration statement that includes this prospectus (or in any one or more additional registration statements filed
with the SEC that include Common Shares that may be issued and sold by the Company to Selling Shareholder under the EPA) untrue or
which requires the making of any additions to or changes to the statements contained therein in order to state a material fact required
by the Securities Act to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements then made therein (in the case of this prospectus
or the prospectus included in any one or more additional registration statements filed with the SEC under the RRA, in the light of
the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading;
●
the
Company performing, satisfying and complying in all material respects with all covenants, agreements and conditions required by the
EPA;
●
the
absence of any statute, regulation, order, decree, writ, ruling or injunction by any court or governmental authority of competent
jurisdiction which prohibits the consummation of or that would materially modify or delay any of the transactions contemplated by
the EPA or the RRA;
●
trading
in the Common Shares will not have been suspended by the SEC, Nasdaq or FINRA, the Company will not have received any final and non-appealable
notice that the listing or quotation of the Common Shares on Nasdaq will be terminated on a date certain (unless, prior to such date,
the Common Shares is listed or quoted on any other Principal Market, as such term is defined in the EPA), and there will be no suspension
of, or restriction on, accepting additional deposits of the Common Shares, electronic trading or book-entry services by The Depository
Trust Company with respect to the Common Shares;
●
the
Company will have authorized all of the Common Shares issuable pursuant to the applicable Put Notice by all necessary corporate action
of the Company; and
●
the
accuracy in all material respects of the representations and warranties of the Company included in the applicable Put Notice as of
the applicable Put Date.
No
Short-Selling or Hedging by Selling Shareholder
Selling
Shareholder has agreed that none of Selling Shareholder, its sole member, any of their respective officers, or any entity managed or
controlled by Selling Shareholder or its sole member will engage in or effect, directly or indirectly, for its own account or for the
account of any other of such persons or entities, any short sales of the Common Shares or hedging transaction that establishes a net
short position in the Common Shares during the term of the EPA.
Effect
of Sales of our Common Shares under the EPA on our Shareholders
The
Commitment Shares that we issued, and the EPA Shares to be issued or sold by us, to the Selling Shareholder under the EPA that are being
registered under the Securities Act for resale by the Selling Shareholder in this offering are expected to be freely tradable. The resale
by the Selling Shareholder of a significant amount of shares registered for resale in this offering at any given time, or the perception
that these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our Common Shares to decline and to be highly volatile. Sales of our Common
Shares, if any, to the Selling Shareholder under the EPA will depend upon market conditions and other factors to be determined by us.
9
If
and when we do sell Common Shares to the Selling Shareholder pursuant to the EPA, after the Selling Shareholder has acquired such shares,
the Selling Shareholder may resell all, some or none of such shares at any time or from time to time in its discretion and at different
prices. As a result, investors who purchase the shares from the Selling Shareholder in this offering at different times will likely pay
different prices for those shares, and so may experience different levels of dilution, and in some cases substantial dilution, and different
outcomes in their investment results. Investors may experience a decline in the value of the shares they purchase from the Selling Shareholder
in this offering as a result of future sales made by us to the Selling Shareholder at prices lower than the prices such investors paid
for their shares in this offering. In addition, if we sell a substantial number of Common Shares to the Selling Shareholder under the
EPA, or if investors expect that we will do so, the actual sales of shares or the mere existence of our arrangement with the Selling
Shareholder may make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that
we might otherwise wish to effect such sales.
Because
the per share purchase price that the Selling Shareholder will pay for the EPA Shares in any put notice that we may elect to effect pursuant
to the EPA will be determined by reference to the VWAP during the applicable commitment period on the applicable put date for such put
notice, as of the date of this prospectus, it is not possible for us to predict the number of Common Shares that we will sell to the
Selling Shareholder under the EPA, the actual purchase price per share to be paid by the Selling Shareholder for those shares, or the
actual gross proceeds to be raised by us from those sales, if any.
As
of August 31, 2024, there were 8,425,352 Common Shares outstanding. Company has already issued 741,499 shares against
EPA out of the total 13,910,991 shares only 13,169,492 shares can further be offered. If all of the 13,169,492 shares offered
for resale by the Selling Shareholder under this prospectus were issued and outstanding, such shares would represent approximately
150% of the total number of outstanding Common Shares and approximately 249% of the total number of outstanding Common
Shares held by non-affiliates of our company, in each case as of August 31, 2024.
Although
the EPA provides that we may sell up to $15.0 million of our Common Shares to the Selling Shareholder, only 13,910,991 shares (which
includes the 200,000 Commitment Shares, for which we have not and will not receive any cash consideration) are being registered under
the Securities Act for resale by the Selling Shareholder under the registration statement that includes this prospectus. If we were to
issue and sell all of such 13,910,991 shares to the Selling Shareholder at an assumed purchase price per share of $0.97 (without taking
into account the 19.99% Exchange Cap limitation), representing the closing sale price of our Common Shares on Nasdaq on June 18, 2024,
we would only receive approximately $13.4 million in aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of such EPA Shares to the Selling Shareholder
under the EPA. Depending on the market prices of our Common Shares on the put dates on which we elect to sell such EPA Shares to the
Selling Shareholder under the EPA, we may need to register under the Securities Act additional Common Shares for resale by the Selling
Shareholder in order for us to receive aggregate proceeds equal to the Selling Shareholders’ $15.0 million maximum aggregate purchase
commitment available to us under the EPA.
If
we elect to issue and sell to the Selling Shareholder more Common Shares than the amount being registered, we must file with the SEC
one or more additional registration statements to register such additional shares, which the SEC must declare effective, in each case
before we may elect to sell any additional shares to the Selling Shareholder. For example, if the market price of our Common Shares falls
below $0.97, assuming no beneficial ownership limitations, we will be required to issue more shares than are currently being registered,
necessitating the filing of a new registration statement.
The
issuance of our Common Shares to the Selling Shareholder pursuant to the EPA will not affect the rights or privileges of our existing
shareholders, except that the economic and voting interests of each of our existing shareholders will be diluted. Although the number
of Common Shares that our existing shareholders own will not decrease, the Common Shares owned by our existing shareholder will represent
a smaller percentage of our total outstanding Common Shares after any such issuance.
10
The
following table sets forth the amount of gross proceeds we would receive from the Selling Shareholder from our sale of Common Shares
to the Selling Shareholder under the EPA at varying purchase prices and subject to the limitation of the number of shares being registered
at this time:
Assumed
Average
Purchase Price
Per Share
Number of
Registered Shares
to be Issued if
Full Purchase (1)
Percentage of
Outstanding Shares
After Giving Effect
to the Issuance to
Selling Shareholder (2)
Gross Proceeds
from the Sale of
Shares to
Selling Shareholder
Under the EPA
$ 0.88 (3)
13,169,492
59.93 %
$ 11,589,153
$ 1.00
13,169,492
59.93 %
$ 13,169,492
$ 1.50
13,169,492
59.93 %
$ 19,754,238
$ 2.00
13,169,492
59.93 %
$ 26,338,984
$ 2.50
13,169,492
59.93 %
$ 32,923,730
(1)
Although
the EPA provides that we may sell up to $15,000,000 of our Common Shares to the Selling Shareholder, we only registered 13,910,991
shares under the registration statement that includes this prospectus, which may or may not cover all of the shares we ultimately
sell to the Selling Shareholder under the EPA. The number of shares to be issued as set forth in this column is without regard to
the Exchange Cap or Beneficial Ownership Limitation, but is limited to the actual number of shares being registered at this time. Company already issued 741,499 shares under EPA during August 2024 and this includes 200,000 Commitment Shares
we issued to the Selling Shareholder only 13,169,492 shares can further be issued.
(2)
The
denominator is based on 8,807,019 Common Shares outstanding as of December 19, 2024 (which, for these purposes, includes the 200,000
Commitment Shares we issued to the Selling Shareholder and 541,499 shares issued during August 2024), adjusted to include the issuance of the number of shares set forth in the
adjacent column that we would have sold to the Selling Shareholder, assuming the average purchase price in the first column. The
numerator is based on the number of shares issuable under the EPA at the corresponding assumed average purchase price set forth in
the first column.
(3)
The
closing sale price of our Common Shares on NYSE American on August 31, 2024.
On
November 13, 2024 the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with an institutional
investor, pursuant to which the Company issued and sold to the investor in a registered direct offering, 382,667 (the “RD Shares”)
of the Common Shares at a price of $0.60 per share, and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 1,284,000 Common Shares at a price of $0.5999
per share and an exercise price of $0.0001 per Common Share.
The
securities to be issued in the registered direct offering were offered pursuant to the Company’s shelf registration statement on
Form S-3 (File No. 333-282629), initially filed by the Company with the Commission on October 15, 2024, as amended on October 25, 2024,
and declared effective on October 29, 2024. The offering closed on November 14, 2024 for approximately $1.0 million in gross proceeds.
Industry
Overview
The
Canadian Mortgage and Mortgage Brokerage Industry
According
to the Bank of Canada, as of May 1, 2022 , Canada’s chartered banks held over $1.523 trillion of residential mortgages
(which amount does not include mortgages held by provincially regulated entities such as credit unions or mortgage investment corporations).
Mortgage lenders typically offer a range of products, with options for fixed or variable rates, varying terms and amortization periods,
as well as differing ancillary terms for pre-payment, incentives or other matters. Interest rates are typically renegotiated every three
(3) years. While mortgage lenders post both fixed and variable interest rates at which the lender offers mortgages of varying terms,
typically most lenders are willing to negotiate interest rates lower than those posted, a practice referred to as “discounting”.
The practice began in Canada in the early 1990s and is considered the norm in today’s mortgage market. The practice of discounting
permits mortgage lenders to improve their ability to price discriminate and offer different rates to different borrowers based on their
willingness to pay. Price discrimination allows lenders to increase their profits through negotiating different rates with individual
borrowers instead of offering a blanket reduction in rates. The advent of price discrimination in the Canadian mortgage market has increased
the importance of the mortgage broker in the lending negotiation process. In return for a fee (paid by the lending institution), the
mortgage broker is typically able to negotiate a better rate than the consumer, or to efficiently reduce the time and effort required
to be applied by the consumer to achieve similar results. Mortgage brokers are provincially regulated and subject to training and licensing
requirements. See “Regulatory Environment” for details. However, there are relatively few barriers to entry in the mortgage
brokerage market. Nevertheless, the ability of a given mortgage broker to erode lender price discrimination and secure rates at the lower
end of the range at which lenders are prepared to lend is dependent upon a number of factors. While experience and negotiating ability
are relevant factors, a key factor in the potential success of a mortgage broker in securing advantageous rates is the bargaining power
of the mortgage broker, which varies directly with the volume of mortgages the broker is able to place with lenders.
11
Industry
Growth Strategy
Our
overall aim has been to increase market share through organic (non-acquisition related) means and to achieve growth on the number of
mortgages funded annually. In an effort to accomplish our growth goals, we maintain a consistent, focus on recruiting Field Agents and
overall Users. We have employed a significant number of recruiters which has resulted in growth rate than most of our competitors. Secondly,
with ongoing concentrated efforts towards recruiting, it has allowed us to gain a strong understanding of the competitive models that
exist and also to continually enhance our offerings in the most effective way to recruit and retain qualified Field Agents. Additionally,
through MyPineapple, we are able to support Field Agents growth in sales volume, productivity and efficiency in delivering mortgage solutions
and increasing corporate revenue. Our aim has always been to have the leading model on which to recruit and support Field Agents, based
on offering them a superior value-proposition.
Competitive
Conditions
Mortgage
Brokerage Market Conditions
Effective
January 1, 2018, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (“OSFI”) adopted Guideline B-20 - Residential
Mortgage Underwriting Practices and Procedures (the “Guideline B-20”). The revised Guideline B-20 applies to all federally
regulated financial institutions. The changes to Guideline B-20 reinforce OSFI’s expectation that federally regulated mortgage
lenders remain vigilant in their mortgage underwriting practices. As Guideline B-20 made mortgage borrowing more difficult for many Canadians,
management believes more Canadians may have turned to mortgage brokers to help navigate the complex rules. Management expects that mortgage
brokers will increase their market share in the coming years due to the following factors:
●
Mortgage
regulations: Mortgage regulations have become more stringent in recent years, affecting the number of individuals that can qualify
for conventional bank mortgages. As a result, these individuals are turned away from banks and seek out mortgage brokers for assistance
in obtaining a mortgage.
●
Additional
Offerings: With new products to offer, mortgage brokers will tend to appeal to a larger demographic/population base and also retain
clients more effectively.
●
Conditioning
and Habits: Twenty years ago, only a minimal percentage of the Canadian population used mortgage brokers, as brokers were viewed
generally as a last resort to obtaining a mortgage. Over the years, this perception has shifted, and Canadians are now using mortgage
brokers to obtain better mortgage rates and to save money. The generation that was reaching a home-buying age when brokers had little
or no market share is aging and continually being replaced by younger, mortgage broker friendly Canadians.
●
Complexity
of Mortgages: Many consumers are not sufficiently financially literate to ask the right questions when applying for a loan at a bank.
As financial products become more complicated, more Canadians seek assistance to understand the complexities and alternatives.
●
Increased
Broker Business Sophistication: As mortgage broker business sophistication increases, the Company expects the volume of renewal business
funded by mortgage brokers to increase.
●
Interest
Rates May Increase: As interest rates have been at historical lows for a significant period, many believe that interest rates will
increase in years to come. In a higher interest rate environment, the Company anticipates that a growing proportion of consumers
will likely shop for the best mortgage opportunities, driving the more conservative “single-bank” mortgage consumers
to use mortgage brokers.
●
Technology:
By utilizing MyPineapple and other available technologies, mortgage brokers have the ability to access client demographic and credit
information and quickly and efficiently disseminate credit applications to various lenders across Canada. Technology provides the
mortgage broker and clients with the ability to efficiently access home specific and third-party data such as appraisals, credit
reports and related credit application information in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner.
12
Primary
Competitors
Our
primary competitors consist of the following 3 categories:
1.
Traditional
Mortgage Brokerages: These mortgage companies provide clients a more traditional way of obtaining mortgages by sourcing business
through referrals while processing loan applications with limited access to technology and face-to-face meetings. As many of these
organizations have been operating for decades, they have had time to cultivate relationships and build strong portfolios of customers.
They access Canada’s leading lenders for their products and services. Examples are: Dominion Lending Centres (TSX: DLCG), Verico,
Mortgage Alliance and Centum.
2.
Digital
Mortgage Companies: A fairly new breed of mortgage company that is sprouting from the digital evolution currently taking place in
our landscape. These companies are focused on a direct-to-consumer model by offering a digital mortgage experience, however, they
are still using a more traditional structure in the back office to fund mortgage solutions through Canada’s largest lenders.
Examples are: Nesto, Homewise and Motus Bank.
3.
Mortgage
Technology Providers: These are companies that provide software and technology solutions to some of the traditional mortgage brokerages
and companies that have not invested or developed their own technology solutions. The providers are typically focused on specific
problems and providing solutions to segments of mortgage workflow. They can be expensive and difficult for traditional companies
to implement. Examples are: Finmo, Lenders and Lender Spotlight.
Competitive
Advantages
We
compete with a number of mortgage brokerage companies. However, we offer competitive advantages relative to alternative mortgage broker
arrangements as a result of the following:
●
Debt
Consolidation: As personal debt levels continue to grow, we offer a unique opportunity of allowing potential borrowers access to
their home equity to consolidate debts at lower interest rates. Interest only payments will provide lower and more flexible payment
terms which will free clients cash flow for savings and help them establish better control over their personal finances.
●
Residential
Home Purchase: With access to Canada’s top lenders, we can help our clients find a mortgage solution best suited for their
individual needs. Our Field Agents are trained at finding a mortgage solution that fits into a client’s overall wealth plan
and helps the client obtain the lowest overall cost of borrowing.
●
Refinance:
We will encourage and assist clients to either take equity out of their homes or refinance into lower interest rates.
●
Switch:
We allow clients to easily transfer to another lender upon renewal.
13
●
Renovation
and Construction: With homebuyers seeing historic appreciation in home values the market has seen the “move up” buyer
decide to stay and renovate existing property with the equity they have quickly grown. This has provided an opportunity for us to
focus on providing the short-term financing required for such home renovation projects, while the major banks have slowly pulled
out or limited their exposure in this area with government regulations changes to the home equity line of credit program.
●
Self
Employed: As large numbers of Canadians move into business for self, we have found an increase demand for a mortgage product that
can suit their needs. Typically these borrowers have good credit ratings and assets but can’t verify their income through traditional
means such as tax filings and pay stubs.
●
Damaged
Credit: Damaged or challenged credit files are something that needs a financing solution. We take a holistic approach in determining
the risk as it maps out a solution. Mortgages for these types of clients will need to improve their situation either by increasing
cash flow, reducing debt load or increasing income potential. We will ask referring brokers to maintain close relationships with
these clients to work on rehabilitation.
●
Private
Lending: With exclusive access and expertise in private lending, we can ensure clients have knowledge of all available resources
in the market.
●
Technology:
We are able to provide advanced technology solutions to differentiate us from our competitors, including:
a)
Data
Analytics - Optimized Retention - Enhanced Customer Experience: As a data driven mortgage company MyPineapple harnesses the power
of data which we acquire through the mortgage process and use it to help make meaningful decisions which save the client money, time
and improve the customer experience.
b)
Unique
Customer Profiling - Optimized Retention: Using a proprietary scoring and profiling process, we are able to uniquely segment clients
and provide most televant information and resources to them at a meaningful point in the mortgage process.
c)
Internal
Processing Centre - Focused Team - Increased Productivity: Having an internal underwriting and mortgage processing center allows
us increased conversion, higher funding ratio’s and maximize productivity of our Field Agents.
d)
Actionable
Signals - Marketing Efforts - Focused Engagement: Driving real-time signals to our Field Agents when conversion opportunities present
themselves.
e)
Knowledge
Transfer - Increased Accuracy - Performance: Comprehensive education technologies platform allows us to align the right product to
the right lender and client.
f)
Data
Integrity - Optimized Decision Making: We have built safeguards to ensure data integrity and accuracy.
g)
Lead
Generation and Market Segmentation: MyPineapple quickly segments leads for personalized marketing. It then markets on behalf of the
agent, turning cold leads into warm leads for faster customer acquisition. Field Agents receive real-time notifications for email,
as well as reminders and scripts to ensure nothing is missed.
h)
Automated
Triggers and Enhanced Workflow —MyPineapple directly syncs to calendars and emails. Tasks can easily be inputted into the system
and email reminders ensure Field Agents remember to follow up. Intuitive automation then kicks in to guide Field Agents and all stakeholders
through the entire process.
i)
Live
Community via Chatter: MyPineapple connects Field Agents directly to the underwriting team, as well as other agents throughout the
organization. This creates a support network, sense of work community and ultimately accelerates the response time.
j)
Online
database of educational tools known as KNOWLEDGE - This online information resource is an online library with over 2000 resources,
containing training videos that cover everything, from lender guidelines, sales and marketing tips, to deals training and more.
k)
Advanced
Analytics and Reporting Features that turn data into actionable insights - This maximizes opportunity and creates lifetime customer
value which lowers acquisition costs and significantly increases revenue.
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Specialized
Skill and Knowledge
Our
business requires specialized skills and knowledge, which include, but are not limited to, expertise related to mortgage underwriting,
mortgage originations, private lending, business development, marketing and business strategy development. Our executive and management
team has a strong background and significant experience and expertise in these areas. Our team also possesses specialized skills in data
architecture, software development, programming and coding, finance and accounting, automations and process, training and education.
Additionally, we currently rely upon, and expect to continue to rely upon, various legal and financial advisors and consultants and others
in the operation and management of our business.
Intangible
Assets
Our
business is substantially dependent on our proprietary technology platform, MyPineapple, which it licenses from Salesforce. While the
Company has not registered any intellectual property rights with respect to MyPineapple, it relies on trade secrets to protect the applicable
proprietary information. Additionally, MyPineapple has been built through various development partners, such that no single developer
has access to the complete technological architecture. See “Business — Material Contracts” for more information on
the Salesforce Agreement
Additionally,
we rely on confidentiality agreements with its employees, consultants and advisors to protect its trade secrets and other proprietary
information. Nonetheless, these agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an
adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. If we are not able to adequately prevent disclosure
of trade secrets and other proprietary information, the value of its business could be significantly diminished.
Material
Contracts
Salesforce
Agreement
In
connection with the development of MyPineapple, we entered into a licensing agreement with Salesforce.com, Inc. dated (NYSE: CRM) December
1, 2020 (the “Salesforce Agreement”) and expires on March 31 2025. Salesforce is a cloud-based software company headquartered
in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management software and applications focused on sales, customer service,
marketing automation, analytics, and application development. Pursuant to the Salesforce Agreement, we are licensed to use the Salesforce
software as the platform or infrastructure on which we build the various applications such as MyPineapple. The applications we develop
on this platform are the core that drive the operational software and applications used by Field Agents to initiate and process mortgage
originations, which is the primary basis of our revenue generation. The Company is billed annually at a rate of $807,435 per year, which
was during the year ended August 31, 2024
Affiliation
Agreements
We
enter into affiliation agreements with Affiliate Brokers, pursuant to which we and the Affiliate Broker enter into an affiliation relationship
with the intention of jointly marketing mortgage brokerage and other financial services as affiliated entities, sometimes referred to
as “white labelling”, which allows the Affiliate Broker to sell a mortgage that is branded with its company name to its own
client base. Pursuant to these affiliation agreements, we generally receive a fixed commission from the Affiliate Broker for any mortgage
transaction where the Affiliate Broker has acted as the mortgage broker for the borrower. In general, these affiliation agreements have
an indefinite term and may be terminated by either party upon thirty days written notice.
Changes
to Contracts
The
Company does not expect its business to be affected in the current financial year by renegotiation or termination of contracts or sub-contracts.
15
Regulatory
Environment
Brokerage
License Requirements
In
order to operate its mortgage broker business, we must remain duly licensed as a mortgage broker to deal and trade in mortgages in accordance
with the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006 (Ontario), as amended (the “MBLA Act”). We have had our
mortgage brokerage license since November 2016 and it has been renewed each year without issue. We will be subject to similar legislation
and license requirements in the other provinces in Canada where we intend to expand.
In
accordance with the MBLA Act, individuals, including directors, officers, partners, directors and officers of corporate partners, employees
or agents of a mortgage brokerage company, such as the Company, who are engaged in dealing mortgages or trading in mortgages on its behalf
must obtain a mortgage broker or mortgage agent license. A mortgage broker or agent license authorizes an individual to work for only
the mortgage brokerage company named under the license. An individual cannot be licensed to work for more than one mortgage brokerage
company. The Superintendent of Financial Services will use the information obtained in a mortgage broker license application to determine
whether an applicant meets the prescribed eligibility requirements and is suitable for a license. The applicant will be required to submit
documents to support certain pieces of information about the business.
●
Application
Process. The application must be completed and submitted to certain regulatory authorities in the provinces and territories of Canada
(each a “Regulatory Authority”), such as the Financial Services Regulatory Authority Ontario. The Regulatory Authority
will send to the applicant an email acknowledgement upon receipt of the application. The Regulatory Authority will advise the applicant
if the application is in order to proceed to the next step in the process. In the next step, the applicant will prepare and submit
the application to license the mortgage brokerage’s principal broker and prepare and submit the online declarations for all
the directors/officers/partners via The Regulatory Authority’s online licensing system. All directors and officers of the mortgage
brokerage company applicant (“DOPs”) are required to provide confirmation of their suitability for licensing of the mortgage
brokerage. A mortgage brokerage’s license can only be approved or issued when all the declarations from DOPs are received and
reviewed by the Regulatory Authority. Once the brokerage’s license has been approved an email will be sent to the principal
broker to indicate the brokerage’s license number. No paper license will be issued. At this point, the brokerage may prepare
and submit applications to license its other brokers and agents via the online licensing system.
●
Fraud
Prevention Measures. FSRA is required to maintain a public registry of licensed mortgage brokerages. Consistent with FSRA’s
role in protecting the public interest FSRA collaborates with other organizations, including other regulators, fraud prevention organizations
and law enforcement agencies.
●
Fees
and Renewal. Fees are payable in respect of all applications for licenses, other than for the mortgage brokerage’s principal
broker. The fees are based on a one-year cycle. The fee due is prorated based on when the application is submitted. To simplify the
payment and reconciliation process, mortgage brokerages are also required to submit fees on behalf of their agents and brokers. These
fees are paid electronically when the mortgage brokerage submits license applications for its brokers and agents through the online
licensing system. Once licensed, every mortgage brokerage must pay a regulatory fee in respect of each new one-year cycle. This fee
is due every year on March 31. The mortgage brokerage must also pay fees on behalf of each agent and broker, other than the principal
broker, when renewing their broker or agent licenses for the same one-year cycle.
Insurance
Regulation
Pineapple
Insurance is subject to federal, as well as provincial and territorial, regulation in Canada in the provinces and territories in which
they underwrite insurance/reinsurance. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”) is the federal
regulatory body that, under the Insurance Companies Act (Canada) (the Insurance Companies Act”), prudentially regulates
federal Canadian and non-Canadian insurance and reinsurance companies operating in Canada. Pineapple Insurance is licensed to carry on
insurance business by OSFI and in each province and territory.
Under
the Insurance Companies Act, Pineapple Insurance is required to maintain an adequate amount of capital in Canada, calculated in accordance
with a test promulgated by OSFI called the Minimum Capital Test. Under the Insurance Companies Act, approval of the Minister of Finance
(Canada) is required in connection with certain acquisitions of shares of, or control of, Canadian insurance companies such as Pineapple
Insurance, and notice to and/or approval of OSFI is required in connection with the payment of dividends by or redemption of shares by
Canadian insurance companies such as Pineapple Insurance.
16
Other
Regulations
In
addition, the Company must comply with all federal, provincial and municipal laws that affect a Canadian business including employment,
workers’ compensation, insurance, corporate, and tax laws and regulations.
Bankruptcy
and Similar Procedures
The
Company has not had any bankruptcy (whether voluntary or otherwise), receivership or other similar proceedings instituted by it or against
it since its incorporation nor are any such proceedings being contemplated or threatened in the foreseeable future.
Material
Restructuring Transactions
Pineapple
has not completed any material restructuring transactions since incorporation.
Incorporation
The
Company was incorporated under the OBCA on October 16, 2015 under the name “2487269 Ontario Limited” (doing business under
the name of Capital Lending Centre). The Company’s head office is located at Unit 200, 111 Gordon Baker Road, North York, Ontario
M2H 3R1 and its registered and records office is located at 67 Mowat Avenue Suite 122, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3E3. On June 16, 2021, the
Company changed its name to “Pineapple Financial Inc.”
Corporate
Structure
The
Company has two wholly owned subsidiaries: Pineapple Insurance Inc. (“Pineapple Insurance”) and Pineapple National Inc. (“Pineapple
National”). Pineapple Insurance was incorporated under the OBCA on December 14, 2016, under the name “CLC Insurance Inc.”
and changed its name to Pineapple Insurance Inc. on July 12, 2021. Pineapple Insurance has a registered and records office located at
Suite 200, 111 Gordon Baker Road, Suite 200, North York, Ontario M2H 3R1. Pineapple National was incorporated under the Canada Business
Corporations Act on November 9, 2021, with a registered and records office located at 10th Floor, 595 Howe Street, Vancouver, British
Columbia V6C 2T5.
ITEM
1A. RISK FACTORS
Risks
Related to the Company
We
are dependent on the residential real estate market.
Our
financial performance is closely connected to the strength of the residential real estate market, which is subject to a number of general
business and macroeconomic conditions beyond our control.
17
Macroeconomic
conditions that could adversely impact the growth of the real estate market and have a material adverse effect on our business include,
but are not limited to, economic slowdown or recession, increased unemployment, increased energy costs, reductions in the availability
of credit or higher interest rates, increased costs of obtaining mortgages, an increase in foreclosure activity, inflation, disruptions
in capital markets, declines in the stock market, adverse tax policies or changes in other regulations, lower consumer confidence, lower
wage and salary levels, war or terrorist attacks, natural disasters or adverse weather events, or the public perception that any of these
events may occur. Unfavorable general economic conditions, such as a recession or economic slowdown, in the United States, Canada or
other markets the Company enters and operates within could negatively affect the affordability of, and consumer demand for, its services
which could have a material adverse effect on its business and profitability.
In
addition, federal and state governments, agencies and government-sponsored entities could take actions that result in unforeseen consequences
to the real estate market or that otherwise could negatively impact the Company’s business. Some of the above-mentioned economic
factors and conditions are currently adversely affecting Pineapple as the Users and consumer sentiment has waned and has precipitated
fears of a possible economic recession. In the event of a continuing market downturn, our results of operations could be adversely affected
by those factors in many ways, including making it more difficult for us to raise funds if necessary, and our stock price may further
decline.
The
real estate market is substantially reliant on the monetary policies of the federal government and its agencies and is particularly affected
by the policies of the Bank of Canada, which regulates the supply of money and credit in Canada, which in turn impacts interest rates.
The Company’s revenues could be negatively impacted by a rising interest rate environment. As mortgage rates rise, the number of
home sale transactions may decrease as potential home sellers choose to stay with their lower mortgage rate rather than sell their home
and pay a higher mortgage rate with the purchase of another home. Due to a prospective higher debt assumption with the rise in interest
rates, homeowners also may choose to not participate in refinancing or other similar mortgage financing activity that would create revenue
for Pineapple. Potential home buyers may choose to rent rather than pay higher mortgage rates. Changes in the interest rate environment
and mortgage market are beyond the Company’s control, are difficult to predict and could have a material adverse effect on its
business and profitability.
We
may not be able to secure additional capital and achieve adequate liquidity to grow and compete.
We
will require additional capital to operate, grow and compete, and failure to obtain such additional capital could limit our operations
and our growth. When such additional capital is required, we will need to pursue various financing transactions or arrangements, which
may include debt financing, equity financing or other means. Additional financing may not be available when needed or, if available,
the terms of such financing might not be favorable to us and might involve substantial dilution to existing shareholders. In addition,
debt and other debt financing may involve a pledge of assets and may be senior to interests of equity holders. We may incur substantial
costs in pursuing future capital requirements, including investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, securities law compliance
fees, printing and distribution expenses and other costs. The ability to obtain needed financing may be impaired by such factors as the
capital markets (both generally and in the mortgage brokerage industry in particular), our status as a relatively new enterprise with
a limited history and/or the loss of key management personnel.
We
have a limited operating history and, therefore, cannot accurately project our revenues and operating expenses.
We
have a relatively limited operating history. As such, we will be subject to all of the business risks and uncertainties associated with
any new business enterprise, including under-capitalization, cash shortages, limitations with respect to personnel, financial and other
resources. Although we possess an experienced management team, there is no assurance that we will be successful in achieving a return
on shareholders’ investment and the likelihood of our success must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties,
complications and delays frequently encountered in connection with the establishment of any business. There is no assurance that we can
continue to generate revenues, operate profitably, or provide a return on investment, or that we will successfully implement our business
and growth plans. An investment in our securities carries a high degree of risk and should be considered speculative by investors. Prospective
investors should consider any purchase of our securities in light of the risks, expenses and problems frequently encountered by all companies
in the early stages of their corporate development.
18
We
may continue to incur substantial losses and negative operating cash flows and may not achieve or maintain positive cash flow or profitability
in the future.
Our
financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis under which an entity is considered to be able to realize its assets
and satisfy its liabilities in the ordinary course of business. Our future operations are dependent upon the identification and successful
completion of equity or debt financings and the continued achievement of profitable operations at an indeterminate time in the future.
There can be no assurances that we will be successful in completing equity or debt financings or in achieving profitability. The financial
statements do not give effect to any adjustments relating to the carrying values and classifications of assets and liabilities that would
be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern.
Currency
exchange rates fluctuations could adversely affect our operating results.
The
Company is exposed to the effects of fluctuations in currency exchange rates, Our functional currency is in Canadian dollars (CAD) and
our presentation currency is in US dollars (USD). Due to the currency exchange rates fluctuations between the two currencies, there is
a risk the company’s operations and profitability may be affected during the translation. Currently the company does not have many
international transactions and the fluctuations are mostly limited to the financial statements currency translation adjustments relating
to the movements. The financial statements contain a line disclosing this translation amount.
Our
operating results may be subject to seasonality and vary significantly among quarters during each calendar year, making meaningful comparisons
of successive quarters difficult.
Seasons
and weather traditionally impact the real estate industry in the jurisdictions where we operate. Continuous poor weather or natural disasters
negatively impact listings and sales. Spring and summer seasons historically reflect greater sales periods in comparison to fall and
winter seasons. We have historically experienced lower revenues during the fall and winter seasons, as well as during periods of unseasonable
weather, which reduces the Company’s operating income, net income, operating margins and cash flow.
Real
estate listings precede sales and a period of poor listings activity will negatively impact revenue. Past performance in similar seasons
or during similar weather events can provide no assurance of future or current performance, and macroeconomic shifts in the markets we
serve can conceal the impact of poor weather or seasonality.
Home
sales in successive quarters can fluctuate widely due to a wide variety of factors, including holidays, national or international emergencies,
the school year calendar’s impact on timing of family relocations, interest rate changes, speculation of pending interest rate
changes and the overall macroeconomic market. Our revenue and operating margins each quarter will remain subject to seasonal fluctuations,
poor weather and natural disasters and macroeconomic market changes that may make it difficult to compare or analyze our financial performance
effectively across successive quarters.
Our
growth strategy may not achieve the anticipated results.
Our
future growth, profitability and cash flows depend upon our ability to successfully implement our growth strategy, which, in turn, is
dependent upon a number of factors, including our ability to:
●
expand
our customer base;
●
increase
and retain more qualified agents;
●
expand
into additional jurisdictions;
●
support
growth of existing customers;
19
●
continued
financial strength and health;
●
diversify
into additional related businesses;
●
improve
our technological capabilities;
●
ensure
skilled and well-trained employees and agents;
●
enhance
our platforms; and
●
selectively
pursue acquisitions.
There
can be no assurance that we can successfully achieve any or all of the above initiatives in the manner or time period that we expect.
Further, achieving these objectives will require investments which may result in short-term costs without generating any current revenue
and therefore may be dilutive to our earnings. We cannot provide any assurance that we will realize, in full or in part, the anticipated
benefits we expect our strategy will achieve. The failure to realize those benefits could have a material adverse effect on our business,
financial condition and results of operations.
We
may be unable to effectively manage rapid growth in our business.
We
anticipate that growth in demand for our services will place significant demands on our operational infrastructure. The scalability and
flexibility of our platform depends on the functionality of our technology and network infrastructure and its ability to handle increased
traffic and demand for bandwidth. We anticipate that growth in the number of customers using our platform and the number of requests
processed through our platform will increase the amount of data that we process. Any problems with the transmission of increased data
and requests could result in harm to our brand or reputation. Moreover, as our business grows, we will need to devote additional resources
to improving our operational infrastructure and continuing to enhance its scalability in order to maintain the performance of our platform.
As
we grow, we will be required to continue to improve our operational and financial controls and reporting procedures and we may not be
able to do so effectively. Furthermore, some members of our management do not have significant experience managing a large national business
operation, so our management may not be able to manage such growth effectively. In managing our growing operations, we are also subject
to the risks of over-hiring and/or overcompensating our employees and over-expanding our operating infrastructure. As a result, we may
be unable to manage our expenses effectively in the future, which may negatively impact our gross profit or operating expenses.
As
we continue to grow and develop the infrastructure of a public company, we must effectively integrate, develop and motivate a growing
number of new employees. In addition, we must preserve our ability to execute quickly, further developing our platform and implementing
new features and initiatives. As a result, we may find it difficult to maintain our corporate culture, which could limit our ability
to innovate and operate effectively. Any failure to preserve our culture could also negatively affect our ability to recruit and retain
personnel, to continue to perform at current levels or to execute on our business strategy effectively and efficiently.
To
grow our business, we will continue to depend on relationships with third parties, such as insurance companies, financial institutions
and lenders.
To
grow our business, we will continue to depend on relationships with third parties, such as insurance companies, financial institutions
and lenders. Identifying partners, and negotiating and documenting relationships with them, requires significant time and resources.
Our competitors may be effective in providing incentives to third parties to favor their products or services over ours. In addition,
acquisitions our partners by our competitors could result in a decrease in the number of our current and potential customers, as our
partners may no longer facilitate the adoption of our applications by potential customers. Although we do maintain a few fixed-term contracts
with lending partners, we cannot assure you that we can renew them once they expire, or we can renew them with the term we desire. Even
though our business does not substantially depend on any particular third-party lending partner, if we are unsuccessful in establishing
and maintaining our relationships with third parties, or if these third parties are unable or unwilling to provide services to us, our
ability to compete in the marketplace or to generate revenue could be impaired, and its results of operations may suffer. Even if we
are successful, we cannot be sure that these relationships will result in increased customer usage of its services or increased revenue.
20
Our
insurance business is highly regulated, and statutory and regulatory changes may materially adversely affect our business, financial
condition and results of operations.
Life
insurance statutes and regulations are generally designed to protect the interests of the public and policyholders. Those interests may
conflict with the interests of our shareholders. Federal and provincial insurance laws regulate all aspects of our Canadian insurance
business. Changes to federal or provincial statutes and regulations may be more restrictive than current requirements or may result in
higher costs, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If the O ffice
of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OFSI”) determines that our corporate actions do not comply with
applicable Canadian law, Pineapple Insurance could face sanctions or fines, and be subject to increased capital requirements or other
requirements. If OSFI determines Pineapple Insurance is not receiving adequate support from Pineapple under applicable Canadian law,
Pineapple Insurance may be subject to increased capital requirements or other requirements deemed appropriate by OSFI.
If
there are extraordinary changes to Canadian statutory or regulatory requirements, we may be unable to fully comply with or maintain all
required insurance licenses and approvals and the regulatory authorities could preclude or temporarily suspend us from carrying on some
or all of our insurance activities or impose fines or penalties on us, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial
condition and results of operations. We cannot predict with certainty the effect any proposed or future legislation or regulatory initiatives
may have on the conduct of our business.
We
may be subject to fraudulent activity that may negatively impact our operating results, brand and reputation.
Fraudulent
activity could negatively impact our operating results, brand, and reputation, and cause the use of our products and services to decrease.
We are subject to the risk of fraudulent activity associated with handling borrower or lending partner information. Our resources, technologies
and fraud detection tools may be insufficient to accurately detect and prevent fraud. A significant increase in fraudulent activities
could negatively impact our brands and reputation, discourage lending partners from collaborating with us, reduce the total amount of
loans originated by lending partners, and lead us to take additional steps to reduce fraud risk, which could increase our costs. High
profile fraudulent activity could even lead to regulatory intervention and may divert our management’s attention and cause us to
incur additional expenses and costs. Although we have not experienced any material business or reputational harm as a result of fraudulent
activities in the past, we cannot rule out the possibility that fraudulent activities may materially and adversely affect our business,
financial condition, and results of operations in the future.
We
may experience security breaches that could result in the loss or misuse of data, which could harm our business and reputation.
We
operate in an industry that is prone to cyber attacks. Failure to prevent or mitigate security breaches and improper access to or disclosure
of our data or customer data, could result in the loss or misuse of such data, which could harm our business and reputation. The security
measures we have integrated into our internal networks and platform, which are designed to prevent or minimize security breaches, may
not function as expected or may not be sufficient to protect our internal networks and platform against certain attacks. In addition,
techniques used to sabotage or to obtain unauthorized access to networks in which data is stored or through which data is transmitted
change frequently. As a result, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures to prevent
an electronic intrusion into our networks.
If
a security breach were to occur, as a result of third-party action, employee error, breakdown of our internal security processes and
procedures, malfeasance or otherwise, and the confidentiality, integrity or availability of our customers’ data was disrupted,
we could incur significant liability to our customers, and our platform may be perceived as less desirable, which could negatively affect
our business and damage our reputation.
Our
platform may be subject to distributed denial of service attacks (“DDoS”), a technique used by hackers to take an internet
service offline by overloading its servers, and we cannot guarantee that applicable recovery systems, security protocols, network protection
mechanisms and other procedures are or will be adequate to prevent network and service interruption, system failure or data loss. In
addition, computer malware, viruses, and hacking and phishing attacks by third parties are prevalent in our industry.
21
Moreover,
our platform could be breached if vulnerabilities in our platform or third-party applications are exploited by unauthorized third parties
or due to employee error, breakdown of our internal security processes and procedures, malfeasance, or otherwise. Further, third parties
may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or customers into disclosing sensitive information such as user names, passwords or other
information or otherwise compromise the security of our internal networks and electronic systems in order to gain access to our data
or our customers’ data. Since techniques used to obtain unauthorized access change frequently and the size and severity of DDoS
attacks and security breaches are increasing, we may be unable to implement adequate preventative measures or stop DDoS attacks or security
breaches while they are occurring.
Any
actual or perceived DDoS attack or security breach could damage our reputation and brand, expose us to a risk of litigation and possible
liability and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to and/or alleviate problems caused by the DDoS
attack or security breach. Some jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring companies to notify individuals and authorities of data security
breaches involving certain types of personal or other data and our agreements with certain customers and partners require us to notify
them in the event of a security incident. Any of these events could harm our reputation or subject us to significant liability, and materially
and adversely affect our business and financial results.
Our
software systems may contain errors, defects or security vulnerabilities that could interrupt operations or materially impact our ability
to originate, monitor or service customer accounts or comply with contractual obligations.
We
are dependent upon the successful and uninterrupted functioning of our computer and data processing systems and software including MyPineapple
as well as the customized software developed by us as part of our third-party underwriting services. These software and systems may contain
errors, defects, security vulnerabilities or software bugs that are difficult to detect and correct, particularly when first introduced
or when new versions or enhancements are released.
The
failure or unavailability of these systems could interrupt operations or materially impact our ability to originate, monitor or service
customer accounts or comply with contractual obligations to third parties. If sustained or repeated, a system failure or loss of data
could negatively affect our operating results. In addition, we depend on automated software to match the terms of our liabilities and
asset maturities. If such software fails or is unavailable on a prolonged basis, we could be required to manually complete such activities,
which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Since
our customers use our services for decisions that are critical to their financial well-being, errors, defects, security vulnerabilities,
service interruptions or software bugs in our platform could result in losses to our customers. Customers may seek significant compensation
from us for any losses they suffer or cease conducting business with us altogether. Further, a customer could share information about
bad experiences on social media, which could result in damage to our reputation and loss of future sales. There can be no assurance that
provisions typically included in our agreements with our customers that attempt to limit its exposure to claims would be enforceable
or adequate or would otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages with respect to any particular claim. Even if not successful, a
claim brought against us by any of our customers would likely be time-consuming and costly to defend and could seriously damage its reputation
and brand, making it harder for us to sell its solutions.
If
we fail to protect the privacy and personal information of our customers, agents or employees, we may be subject to legal claims, government
action and damage to its reputation.
Our
operations are dependent on our information systems and the information collected, processed, stored, and handled by these systems. We
rely heavily on our computer systems to manage our platform. Throughout our operations, we receive, retain and transmit certain confidential
information, including personally identifiable information that our customers provide to purchase services, interact with our personnel,
or otherwise communicate with us. In addition, for these operations, we depend in part on the secure transmission of confidential information
over public networks. Our information systems are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, facility damage, computer and
telecommunications failures, computer viruses, internet access failures, security breaches, including credit card or personally identifiable
information breaches, coordinated cyber-attacks, vandalism, catastrophic events and human error. Although we deploy a layered approach
to address information security threats and vulnerabilities, including ones from a cyber security standpoint, designed to protect confidential
information against data security breaches, a compromise of our information security controls or of those businesses with whom we interact,
which results in confidential information being accessed, obtained, damaged, or used by unauthorized or improper persons, could harm
our reputation and expose us to regulatory actions and claims from customers and other persons, any of which could adversely affect our
business, financial position, and results of operations. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade
service, or sabotage systems change frequently and may not immediately produce signs of intrusion, we may not be able to anticipate these
techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. In addition, a security breach could require that we expend substantial additional
resources related to the security of information systems and disrupt our businesses.
22
We
may need to develop new products and services and rapid technological change could harm our business, results of operations and financial
condition.
We
operate in a competitive industry characterized by rapid technological change and evolving industry standards. Our ability to attract
new customers and generate revenue from existing customers will depend largely on its ability to anticipate industry standards and trends,
respond to technological advances in its industry, and to continue to enhance existing services or to design and introduce new services
on a timely basis to keep pace with technological developments and its customers’ increasingly sophisticated needs. The success
of any enhancement or new services depends on several factors, including the timely completion and market acceptance of the enhancement
or new services. Any new service we develop or acquires might not be introduced in a timely or cost-effective manner and might not achieve
the broad market acceptance necessary to generate significant revenue. If any of our competitors implements new technologies before we
are able to implement them, those competitors may be able to provide more effective services than us at lower prices. Any delay or failure
in the introduction of new or enhanced services could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our
services are expected to embody complex technology that may not meet those standards, changes and preferences. Our ability to design,
develop and commercially launch new services depends on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, its ability to design and
implement solutions and services at an acceptable cost and quality, its ability to attract and retain skilled technical employees, the
availability of critical components from third parties, and its ability to successfully complete the development of services in a timely
manner. There is no guarantee that we will be able to respond to market demands. If we are unable to effectively respond to technological
changes, or fails or delays to develop services in a timely and cost-effective manner, its services may become obsolete, and we may be
unable to recover its development expenses which could negatively impact sales, profitability and the continued viability of its business .
The
failure by us to sustain or increase its current level of mortgage origination from independent mortgage brokers could have a material
adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our
mortgage operations are dependent on a network of mortgage brokers. The mortgage brokers with whom we do business with are not contractually
obligated to do business with us. Further, our competitors also have relationships with the same brokers and actively compete with us
in our efforts to expand our broker network and originate mortgage loans. We may find it difficult to attract new mortgage business from
this network of brokers, or sustain current levels, to meet our needs. The failure by us to sustain or increase its current level of
mortgage origination from these sources could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Increases
in interest rates may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and on the amount of cash
available for dividends to shareholders.
Rising
interest rates generally reduce the demand for credit, including mortgages, increase the cost of borrowing and may discourage potential
borrowers from purchasing new properties, refinancing their existing mortgages or obtaining cash to retire other debt. Consequently,
we may originate fewer mortgages, or a lower dollar amount of mortgages, in a period of rising interest rates. Increases in interest
rates may also cause a lack of liquidity among Pineapple’s institutional investors, potentially reducing the number of mortgages
such purchasers would otherwise buy. Increases in interest rates may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and
results of operations and on the amount of cash available for dividends to shareholders. However, rising interest rates may also result
in a decrease in prepayments on mortgages, which could result in an increase in the number of mortgages under our administration which
would increase the amount of funds received from servicing these mortgages. We believe rising interest rates are currently at a stage
that is close to its maturity level and that core inflation is being contained with the prices of the goods such as groceries and natural
gas not decreasing. As a result, we believe that the Bank of Canada intends to bring core inflation down to a manageable level and is
looking at increasing the interest rates further. If the cycle is almost at maturity, as we believe it is, however, it may take six to
nine months to stabilize and possibly a year to return to pre-Covid 19 levels.
23
In
periods of declining interest rates, prepayments on mortgages tend to increase as a result of borrowers taking advantage of lower interest
rates to refinance higher interest rate mortgages, or as a result of borrowers purchasing new properties and prepaying their existing
mortgages. However, a reduction in the number of mortgages under our administration would result in a decrease in the amount of funds
received from servicing these mortgages and may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations
and on the amount of cash available for dividends to shareholders.
If
any of information from third parties is misrepresented and the misrepresentation is not detected before mortgage funding, the value
of the mortgage may be significantly lower than expected.
Upon
originating a new mortgage application, we assess and determine which institutional or non- institutional mortgage provider would accept
the application. This application is then submitted as soon as practical for final approval and underwriting. These mortgages are then
deemed to be “placed” with said lending institution. We place the mortgages that we originate as soon as is practicable after
committing to the mortgages. Mortgage placements are made under agreements with institutional investors and securitization conduits which
are, in many respects, favorable to the mortgage purchaser. When placing mortgages, we make a variety of customary representations and
warranties regarding itself, our mortgage origination activities and the mortgages that are placed. These representations and warranties
survive for the life of the mortgages and relate to, among other things, compliance with laws, mortgage underwriting and origination
practices and standards, the accuracy and completeness of information in the mortgage documents and mortgage files, and the characteristics
and enforceability of the mortgages. In many cases, these provisions do not have any cure periods and are not subject to any materiality
threshold.
Through
our mortgage origination and underwriting processes, we attempt to verify that our mortgages are originated and underwritten in accordance
with the applicable requirements and comply with representations and warranties made by us. There can be no assurance, however, that
we will not make mistakes or that certain employees or brokers will not deliberately violate our underwriting or other policies, and
breaches of representations and warranties may occur from time to time.
When
we send mortgage originations to the lender partners to be funded, we rely heavily upon information supplied by third parties including
the information contained in the mortgage application, property appraisal, title information and employment and income documentation.
If any of this information is misrepresented and the misrepresentation is not detected before mortgage funding, the value of the mortgage
may be significantly lower than expected. Whether the mortgage applicant, the mortgage broker, another third party or one of our employees
makes a misrepresentation, we generally bear the risk of loss associated with the misrepresentation. A mortgage subject to a misrepresentation
may be unsaleable in the ordinary course of business or may be subject to repurchase or substitution if it is sold before detection of
the misrepresentation or may require us to indemnify the mortgage purchaser. The persons and entities that made a misrepresentation are
often difficult to locate and it may be difficult to collect from them any monetary losses we may have suffered. While we have controls
and processes designed to help it identify misrepresented information in its mortgage origination operations, there can be no assurance
these controls and processes have detected or will detect all misrepresented information.
Global
economy risk may negatively impact our business operations and our ability to raise capital.
The
mortgage financing industry in Canada continued to benefit from historically low and stable interest rates in the past as homeowners
took advantage of these rates with purchasing, repurchasing, and refinancing. Due to global inflationary pressures, Central banks all
over the world are adjusting the interest rates upward to address this. There is a risk that an increase in interest rates could slow
the pace of property sales and adversely affect growth in the mortgage market, which could adversely affect our operations and stated
growth initiatives. A decline in general economic conditions could also cause default rates to increase as creditworthiness decreases
for borrowers. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and on the amount
of cash available for dividends to shareholders.
24
In
addition, there are economic trends and factors that are beyond our control, which may affect our operations and business. Such trends
and factors include adverse changes in the conditions in the specific markets for our services, the conditions in the broader market
for residential mortgages and the conditions in the domestic or global economy generally. Although our performance is affected by the
general condition of the economy, not all of its service areas are affected equally. It is not possible for management to accurately
predict economic fluctuations and the impact of such fluctuations on performance. There is no guarantee that the revenue, asset and profit
growth that we have historically generated will continue or that any of our targets for distributable cash or other performance expectations
will be achieved.
The
volatility of global capital markets over the past several years has generally made the raising of capital by equity or debt financing
more difficult. We may be dependent upon capital markets to raise additional financing in the future. As such, we are subject to liquidity
risks in meeting its operating expenditure requirements and future cost requirements in instances where adequate cash positions are unable
to be maintained or appropriate financing is unavailable. These factors may impact the ability to raise equity or obtain loans and other
credit facilities in the future and on terms favorable to us and our management. If these levels of volatility persist or if there is
a further economic slowdown, our operations, our ability to raise capital and the trading price of our securities could be adversely
impacted.
With inflation now under control, the economic outlook
in Canada has improved significantly. After peaking at 8.1% in mid-2022, inflation has steadily declined and is currently within the Bank
of Canada’s target range of 2-3%. In response, the Bank of Canada reduced the policy interest rate by 1.25% during 2024, bringing
the rate down to 3.75%, with further reductions expected in the near future. These reductions, combined with recent government initiatives
such as the introduction of 30-year amortizations, an increased mortgage insurance price cap of $2 million, and incentives for secondary
suite construction, are creating a more favorable environment for Canadian borrowers.
The decrease in interest rates has eased mortgage
qualification requirements, improved affordability and boosting loan originations. Additionally, government measures to unlock public
land for affordable housing and encourage development through taxation of vacant land further contribute to a positive outlook for the
housing and mortgage markets. Pineapple Financial Inc. is well-positioned to leverage these favorable conditions, supporting borrowers
with innovative solutions and capitalizing on renewed growth opportunities in the housing sector.
A
decline in the global macroeconomic outlook, including as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the threat, or outbreak
of more widespread armed conflict in Eastern Europe would cause financial market activity to continue to decrease, which could negatively
affect the Company’s revenues.
The
current year has been marked by significant market volatility and uncertainty. We believe that continued economic growth will be dependent
on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the continued positive trajectory of the course of the pandemic, a moderation
of the pace of inflation and supply chain issues that developed during 2021, and the nature, magnitude, and duration of hostilities stemming
from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the effects of sanctions and retaliatory cyber attacks on the world economy and markets.
Beginning in November 2021, Russia began to amass troops along the Ukrainian border, heightening military tensions in Eastern Europe.
In February 2022, Russia sent troops into pro-Russian separatist regions in Ukraine. The U.S. and/or other countries, including Canada
and Israel may impose sanctions or other restrictive actions against governmental or other entities in Russia. The long-term impacts
of the conflict between these nations remains uncertain.
Widespread
concern or doubts in the market about the pace or ability of normal economic activity to resume, the potential for prolonged conflict
in Ukraine or the broader outbreak of armed conflict in Eastern Europe, the pace, impact, or effectiveness of the actions by governments
and centrals banks intended to manage the rate of inflation through interest rate increases and the termination of the quantitative easing
program, or the efficacy or adequacy of government measures enacted to support the domestic and global economy, could erode the outlook
for macroeconomic conditions, economic growth, and business confidence, which could negatively impact the Company.
The
current levels of volatility in global markets due to market participants’ reactions to, and uncertainty surrounding, the magnitude
and timing of government and central bank action to be taken in response to heightened inflation, as well as Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine. This volatility has resulted in a decline in the level of activity in the financial markets. Continued market volatility
or uncertainty related to actions taken or to be taken by central banks, a decline in the global macroeconomic outlook, including as
a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the threat, or outbreak of more widespread armed conflict in Eastern Europe would
cause financial market activity to continue to decrease, which could negatively affect the Company’s revenues. In addition, global
macroeconomic conditions and Canadian, Israeli and U.S. financial markets remain vulnerable to the potential risks posed by exogenous
shocks, which could include, among other things, political or social unrest or financial uncertainty in the United States and the European
Union, complications involving terrorism and armed conflicts around the world, or other challenges to global trade or travel.
25
In
addition, the past outbreak of COVID-19, and any future emergence and spread of similar pathogens, could have a material adverse impact
on global economic conditions, which may adversely impact: the market price of the Common Shares, our operations, our ability to raise
debt or equity financing, and the operations of our business partners, contractors and service providers.
Changes
in regulatory legislation or the interpretation thereof, or the introduction of any new regulatory requirements could have a negative
effect on us and our operating results.
We
are currently regulated under mortgage broker, lending and other legislation in all of the jurisdictions in which it conducts business
and is licensed or registered in those jurisdictions where licensing or registration is required by law. Changes in regulatory legislation
or the interpretation thereof, or the introduction of any new regulatory requirements could have a negative effect on us and our operating
results. There are different regulatory and registration requirements in each of the jurisdictions in Canada. We are registered in the
jurisdictions in which we conduct business, however, we may voluntarily seek additional registration in respect of its activities or
from time to time regulators may adopt a different view that may require us to seek additional registration. Failure to be appropriately
registered could result in enforcement action and potential interruption of certain of our servicing or other activities and may result
in a default under servicing agreements. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of
operations.
The
real estate brokerage industry is highly competitive which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition
and results of operations..
Our
products compete with those offered by banks, insurance companies, trust companies and other financial services companies. Some of these
competitors are better capitalized, hold a larger percentage of the Canadian mortgage market, have greater financial, technical and marketing
resources than we do and have greater name recognition than the Pineapple brand. We experience competition in all aspects of our business,
including price competition. If price competition increases, we may not be able to raise the interest rates we charge in response to
a rising cost of funds or may be forced to lower the interest rates that we are able to charge borrowers, which has the potential to
reduce the value of the mortgages we place with institutional mortgage purchasers or securitization vehicles. Price-cutting or discounting
may reduce profits. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and on the
amount of cash available for dividends to shareholders .
A
failure in the demand for its services to materialize as a result of competition, technological change or other factors could have a
material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Market
opportunity estimates and growth forecasts, whether obtained from third-party sources or developed internally, are subject to significant
uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates that may not prove to be accurate. Our estimates and forecasts relating to the
size and expected growth of its target market, market demand and adoption, capacity to address this demand, and pricing may prove to
be inaccurate. We must rely largely on its own market research to forecast sales as detailed forecasts are not generally obtainable from
other sources. A failure in the demand for its services to materialize as a result of competition, technological change or other factors
could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Reputation
loss may result in decreased customer confidence and an impediment to our overall ability to advance its services with customers, thereby
having a material adverse impact on our financial performance, financial condition, cash flows and growth prospects.
Reputational
damage can result from the actual or perceived occurrence of any number of events, and could include any negative publicity, whether
true or not. The increased usage of social media and other web-based tools used to generate, publish and discuss user-generated content
and to connect with other users has made it increasingly easier for individuals and groups to communicate and share opinions and views,
whether true or not. Reputation loss may result in decreased customer confidence and an impediment to our overall ability to advance
its services with customers, thereby having a material adverse impact on our financial performance, financial condition, cash flows and
growth prospects.
26
The
Company’s intellectual property rights are valuable, and any failure or inability to protect them could adversely affect its business.
Our
commercial success depends to a significant degree upon its ability to develop new or improved technologies, instruments and services,
and to obtain patents and/or industrial designs, where appropriate, or other intellectual property rights or statutory protection for
these technologies and products in Canada and the United States. Despite devoting resources to the research and development of proprietary
technology, we may not be able to develop new technology that is patentable or protectable. Further, patents issued to us, if any, could
be challenged, held invalid or unenforceable, or be circumvented and may not provide us with necessary or sufficient protection or a
competitive advantage. Competitors and other third parties may be able to design around our intellectual property or develop a technology
forward platform similar to its platform that is not within the scope of such intellectual property. Our inability to secure its intellectual
property rights may have a materially adverse effect on its business and results of operations. It is imperative that appropriate licensing
agreements be negotiated with thirds parties to ensure protection of all applicable intellectual property.
Prosecution
and protection of the intellectual property rights sought can be costly and uncertain, often involve complex legal and factual issues
and consume significant time and resources. The laws of certain countries may not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent
as the laws of Canada or the United States.
We
depend on highly skilled personnel to grow and operate its business. If we are not able to hire, retain, and motivate our key personnel,
our business may be adversely affected.
Our
success is currently largely dependent on the performance of its directors and officers. The loss of the services of any of these persons
could have a materially adverse effect on our business and prospects. There is no assurance we can maintain the services of its directors,
officers or other qualified personnel required to operate our business. As our business activity grows, we will require additional key
financial, administrative, and technology personnel as well as additional agents and operations staff. There can be no assurance that
these efforts will be successful in attracting, training and retaining qualified personnel as competition for persons with these skill
sets increase. If we are not successful in attracting, training and retaining qualified personnel, the efficiency of its operations could
be impaired, which could have an adverse impact on our operations and financial condition.
It
may be difficult to enforce civil liabilities under Canadian securities laws.
We
and/or our directors and officers may be subject to a variety of civil or other legal proceedings, with or without merit. From time to
time in the ordinary course of its business, we may become involved in various legal proceedings, including commercial, employment and
other litigation and claims, as well as governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings. Such matters can be time-consuming,
divert management’s attention and resources and cause us to incur significant expenses. Furthermore, because litigation is inherently
unpredictable, the results of any such actions may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.
We
have assets located outside of Canada, and therefore it may be difficult to enforce judgments obtained by the Company in foreign jurisdictions
by Canadian courts. Similarly, to the extent that our assets are located outside of Canada, investors may have difficulty collecting
from us any judgments obtained in Canadian courts and predicated on the civil liability provisions of applicable securities legislation.
Furthermore, we may be subject to legal proceedings and judgments in foreign jurisdictions and it may be difficult for U.S. stockholders
to effect service of process against the officers of the Company.
27
Future
acquisitions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities and/or
amortization expenses related to goodwill and other intangible assets, which could materially adversely affect our business, results
of operations and financial condition.
If
appropriate opportunities present themselves, we may complete acquisitions that we believe are strategic. We currently have no understandings,
commitments or agreements with respect to any material acquisition and no other material acquisition is currently being pursued. There
can be no assurance that we will be able to identify, negotiate or finance future acquisitions successfully, or to integrate such acquisitions
with our current business. The process of integrating an acquired company or assets into the Company may result in unforeseen operating
difficulties and expenditures and may absorb significant management attention that would otherwise be available for ongoing development
of our business. Future acquisitions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent
liabilities and/or amortization expenses related to goodwill and other intangible assets, which could materially adversely affect our
business, results of operations and financial condition.
Failure
to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could harm our results of operations
or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations.
Effective
internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and to help prevent fraud. Although we will undertake a
number of procedures and will implement a number of safeguards, in each case, in order to help ensure the reliability of its financial
reports, including those imposed on us under Canadian securities law, we cannot be certain that such measures will ensure that we will
maintain adequate control over financial processes and reporting. Failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties
encountered in their implementation, could harm our results of operations or cause it to fail to meet its reporting obligations. If we
or our auditors discover a material weakness, the disclosure of that fact, even if quickly remedied, could reduce the market’s
confidence in our consolidated financial statements and materially adversely affect the trading price of our Common Shares.
Our
management will ensure the accounting cycle, payroll administration, operational activities, and financial reporting controls to assess
internal control risks and to ensure proper internal control is in place. The potential risk that flows from the identified deficiencies
and weaknesses is the risk of potential fraud. However, the risk of fraud is considered low as management anticipates taking a number
of measures as stated above to mitigate the potential risk of fraud, including without limitation: (i) all purchase and payment, including
payroll, must be authorized by management; (ii) all capital expenditures must be preapproved by management; (iii) all source documents
in any other language other than English must be translated and scanned for accounting entries and recordkeeping purposes; (iv) and almost
all of our cash will be deposited with a Canadian bank in Ontario, Canada. Bank statements will be reviewed by the CFO of Pineapple regularly.
Our management and Board will continue to monitor our operations of, evaluate the internal controls, and develop measures in the future
to mitigate any potential risks and weaknesses.
Canada
does not have a system of exchange controls, and control of the Company by “non-Canadians” may be subject to review and further
government action.
Canada
has no system of exchange controls. There are no Canadian governmental laws, decrees, or regulations relating to restrictions on the
repatriation of capital or earnings of the Company to non-resident investors. There are no laws in Canada or exchange control restrictions
affecting the remittance of dividends, profits, interest, royalties and other payments by the Company to non-resident holders of the
Common Shares, except as discussed below under “ Certain Canadian Federal Income Tax Consequences to Holders of our Common Shares
that are Non-Resident in Canada ”.
There
are no limitations under the laws of Canada or in the organizing documents of the Company on the right of foreigners to hold or vote
securities of the Company, except that the Investment Canada Act may require that a “non-Canadian” not acquire “control”
of the Company without prior review and approval by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. The acquisition of
one-third or more of the voting shares of the Company would give rise a rebuttable presumption of the acquisition of control, and the
acquisition of more than fifty percent of the voting shares of the Company would be deemed to be an acquisition of control. In addition,
the Investment Canada Act provides the Canadian government with broad discretionary powers in relation to national security to review
and potentially prohibit, condition or require the divestiture of, any investment in the Company by a non-Canadian, including non-control
level investments. “Non-Canadian” generally means an individual who is neither a Canadian citizen nor a permanent resident
of Canada within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) who has been ordinarily resident in Canada for not
more than one year after the time at which he or she first became eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship, or a corporation, partnership,
trust or joint venture that is ultimately controlled by non-Canadians.
28
Risks
Related to Our Securities
An
investment in our securities carries a high degree of risk and should be considered as a speculative investment.
An
investment in our securities carries a high degree of risk and should be considered as a speculative investment. We have a limited history
of earnings, a limited operating history, have not paid dividends, and are unlikely to pay dividends in the immediate or near future.
The likelihood of our success must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications and delays frequently
encountered in connection with the establishment of any business. An investment in our securities may result in the loss of an investor’s
entire investment. Only potential investors who are experienced in high risk investments and who can afford to lose their entire investment
should consider an investment our securities.
The
market price of our Common Shares may be highly volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
The
trading price of our Common Shares is likely to be volatile. Upon the consummation of this offering, we will have a relatively small
public float due to the relatively small size of this offering, and the concentrated ownership of our Common Shares among our executive
officers, directors and greater than 5% stockholders. As a result of our small public float, our Common Shares may be less liquid and
have greater stock price volatility than the common shares of companies with broader public ownership.
Our
stock price could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of other factors, which include:
●
whether
we achieve our anticipated corporate objectives;
●
changes
in financial or operational estimates or projections;
●
termination
of the lock-up agreement or other restrictions on the ability of our stockholders to sell shares after this offering; and
●
general
economic or political conditions in the United States or elsewhere.
In
addition, the stock market in general has recently experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or
disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Such rapid and substantial price volatility, including any stock run-up,
may be unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance and financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective
investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our Common Shares. This volatility may prevent you from being able to sell your Common
Shares at or above the price you paid for them. If the market price of our Common Shares after this offering does not exceed the offering
price, you may not realize any return on your investment in us and may lose some or all of your investment.
We
may, in the future, issue additional Common Shares or other securities, which would reduce investors’ percent of ownership and
dilute our share value.
Future
sales or issuances of equity securities could decrease the value of the Common Shares, dilute shareholders’ voting power and reduce
future potential earnings per Common Share. We may sell additional equity securities in subsequent offerings (including through the sale
of securities convertible into Common Shares) and may issue additional equity securities to finance our operations, acquisitions or other
business projects. We cannot predict the size of future sales and issuances of equity securities or the effect, if any, that future sales
and issuances of equity securities will have on the market price of the Common Shares. Sales or issuances of a substantial number of
equity securities, or the perception that such sales could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices for the Common Shares.
With any additional sale or issuance of equity securities, investors will suffer dilution of their voting power and may experience dilution
in our earnings per Common Share.
Subject
to the terms of our Articles of Incorporation and Canadian securities law, we are not restricted from issuing additional Common Shares
or securities similar to the Common Shares, including any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent
the right to receive, Common Shares. The market price of the Common Shares could decline as a result of sales of Common Shares, sales
of other securities made after this offering, or as a result of the perception that such sales could occur. Because our decision to issue
securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate
the amount, timing or nature of any future offerings. Thus, holders of the Common Shares bear the risk of our future offerings reducing
the market price of the Common Shares and diluting their holdings in the Common Shares.
29
We
have never paid dividends on our capital stock and we do not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future.
To
date, we have not paid any dividends on our outstanding Common Shares and do not currently have a policy with respect to the payment
of dividends or other distributions. We do not currently pay dividends and do not intend to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.
Any decision to pay dividends on the Common Shares of the Company will be made by the Board on the basis of the Company’s earnings,
financial requirements and other conditions. See “Dividend Policy”.
We
are an “emerging growth company,” and any decision on our part to comply only with certain reduced reporting and disclosure
requirements applicable to emerging growth companies could make our Common Shares less attractive to investors.
We
are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act. For as long as we continue to be an “emerging
growth company,” we may choose to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies
that are not “emerging growth companies,” including, but not limited to, not being required to have our independent registered
public accounting firm audit our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404, reduced disclosure obligations regarding
executive compensation in our periodic reports and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive
compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an “emerging growth
company” until the fifth anniversary of the fiscal year end date following the completion of this offering, however, our status
would change more quickly if we have more than US$1.235 billion in annual revenue, if the market value of our Common Shares held by non-affiliates
equals or exceeds US$700 million as of June 30 of any year, or we issue more than US$1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year
period before the end of that period.
Investors
could find our Common Shares less attractive if we choose to rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Common Shares less
attractive as a result of any choices to reduce future disclosure, there may be a less active trading market for our Common Shares and
our share price may be more volatile.
For
as long as we are an “emerging growth company”, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to
attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. We could be an “emerging
growth company” until the fifth anniversary of the fiscal year end date following the completion of this offering. An independent
assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls could detect problems that our management’s assessment might not. Undetected
material weaknesses in our internal controls could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation.
If
we identify material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, or if we are unable to comply with the requirements
of Section 404 in a timely manner or assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered
public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting when
required, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our securities
could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by the stock exchange on which our securities are listed,
the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.
We
are a “smaller reporting company” and, even if we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still be subject
to reduced reporting requirements.
Additionally,
we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take
advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements.
We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of any fiscal year for so long as either: (i) the market value of our common
shares held by non-affiliates does not equal or exceed $250 million as of the prior June 30th; or (ii) our annual revenues did not equal
or exceed $100 million during such completed fiscal year. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it
may also make the comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
30
Our
management team will have broad discretion to use the net proceeds from this offering and its investment of these proceeds may not yield
a favorable return. They may invest the proceeds of this offering in ways with which investors disagree.
Our
management team will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend or invest the proceeds
in ways with which our shareholders disagree. Accordingly, investors will need to rely on our management team’s judgment with respect
to the use of these proceeds. We intend to use the proceeds from this offering in the manner described in the section entitled “Use
of Proceeds.” The failure by management to apply these funds effectively could negatively affect our ability to operate and grow
our business.
We
cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds to be received upon the closing of this offering. In addition,
the amount, allocation and timing of our actual expenditures will depend upon numerous factors. Accordingly, we will have broad discretion
in using these proceeds. Until the net proceeds are used, they may be placed in investments that do not produce significant income or
that may lose value.
It
is not possible to predict the actual number of shares we will sell under the EPA to the Selling Shareholder or the actual gross proceeds
resulting from those sales. Further, we may not have access to the full amount available under the EPA with the Selling Shareholder.
Effective
as of May 10, 2024, we entered into the EPA with the Selling Shareholder, pursuant to which the Selling Shareholder has committed to
purchase up to $15,000,000 of shares of the Company’s Common Shares, subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in
the EPA. The Company’s Common Shares that may be issued under the EPA may be sold by us to the Selling Shareholder at our discretion
from time to time.
We
generally have the right to control the timing and amount of any sales of our Common Shares to the Selling Shareholder under the EPA.
Sales of the Company’s Common Shares, if any, to the Selling Shareholder under the EPA will depend upon market conditions and other
factors to be determined by us. We may ultimately decide to sell to the Selling Shareholder all, some or none of the Company’s
Common Shares that may be available for us to sell to the Selling Shareholder pursuant to the EPA.
Because
the purchase price per share to be paid by the Selling Shareholder for the Company’s Common Shares that we may elect to sell to
the Selling Shareholder under the EPA, if any, will fluctuate based on the market prices of the Company’s Common Shares prior to
each issuance made pursuant to the EPA, if any, it is not possible for us to predict, as of the date of this prospectus and prior to
any such sales, the number of shares of the Company’s Common Shares that we will sell to the Selling Shareholder under the EPA,
the purchase price per share that the Selling Shareholder will pay for shares purchased from us under the EPA, or the aggregate gross
proceeds that we will receive from those purchases by the Selling Shareholder under the EPA, if any.
Moreover,
although the EPA provides that we may sell up to an aggregate of $15,000,000 of shares of the Company’s Common Shares to the Selling
Shareholder, only 12,400,110 shares of the Company’s Common Shares are being registered for resale under the registration statement
that includes this prospectus. If we elect to sell to the Selling Shareholder all of the 12,400,110 shares of the Company’s Common
Shares being registered for resale under this prospectus, depending on the market price of the Company’s Common Shares prior to
each advance made pursuant to EPA, the actual gross proceeds from the sale of all such shares may be substantially less than the $15,000,000
available to us under the EPA, which could materially adversely affect our liquidity.
31
If
it becomes necessary for us to issue and sell to the Selling Shareholder under the EPA more than the 12,400,110 shares of the Company’s
Common Shares being registered for resale under this prospectus in order to receive aggregate gross proceeds equal to $15,000,000 under
the EPA, we must file with the SEC one or more additional registration statements to register under the Securities Act the resale by
the Selling Shareholder of any such additional shares of the Company’s Common Shares we wish to sell from time to time under the
EPA, which the SEC must declare effective. Any issuance and sale by us under the EPA of the Company’s Common Shares in addition
to the 12,400,110 shares of the Company’s Common Shares being registered for resale by the Selling Shareholder under the registration
statement that includes this prospectus could cause additional dilution to our stockholders.
We
are not required or permitted to issue any shares of the Company’s Common Shares under the EPA if such issuance would breach our
obligations under the rules or regulations of NYSE American. In addition, the Selling Shareholder will not be required to purchase any
shares of the Company’s Common Shares if such sale would result in the Selling Shareholder’s beneficial ownership exceeding
4.99% of the then issued and outstanding shares of the Company’s Common Shares. Our inability to access a part or all of the amount
available under the EPA, in the absence of any other financing sources, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
If
we fail to maintain compliance with the continued listing requirements of the NYSE American, the Common Shares may be delisted from the
NYSE American, which would result in a limited trading market for our Common Shares and make obtaining future debt or equity financing
more difficult for the Company.
There
is no assurance that we will be able to continue to maintain our compliance with the NYSE American continued listing requirements. The
closing price of our Common Shares on June 17, 2024 as reported by the NYSE American was $0.96. The a company listed on NYSE American
need to have $1.00 minimum share closing price for a period of 30 consecutive trading days in order to meet NYSE American listing standards.
If we fail to do so, our securities would cease to be eligible for trading on the NYSE American and they would likely be traded on the
over-the-counter markets. As a result, selling our securities could be more difficult because smaller quantities of shares or warrants
would likely be bought and sold, transactions could be delayed, and security analysts’ coverage of us may be reduced. In addition,
in the event our securities are delisted, broker-dealers would bear certain regulatory burdens which may discourage broker-dealers from
effecting transactions in the securities and further limit the liquidity of the securities. These factors could result in lower prices
and larger spreads in the bid and ask prices for the securities. Such delisting from the NYSE American and continued or further declines
in the share price of the securities could also greatly impair our ability to raise additional necessary capital through equity or debt
financing and could significantly increase the ownership dilution to shareholders caused by our issuing equity in financing or other
transactions.
If
our Common Shares were to be delisted from the NYSE American, they may become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules.
The
closing price of our Common Shares on August 31, 2024 as reported by the NYSE American was $0.88. The a company listed on NYSE American
need to have $1.00 minimum share closing price for a period of 30 consecutive trading days in order to meet NYSE American listing standards.
Delisting from the NYSE American may cause the securities of the Company to become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock”
rules. The SEC generally defines a penny stock as an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or an exercise
price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exemptions. One such exemption is to be registered on a national securities exchange,
such as the NYSE American. Therefore, if the Common Shares were to be delisted from the NYSE American, the securities of the Company
could become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules. These rules require, among other things, that any broker engaging
in a purchase or sale of our securities provide its customers with: (i) a risk disclosure document, (ii) disclosure of market quotations,
if any, (iii) disclosure of the compensation of the broker and its salespersons in the transaction, and (iv) monthly account statements
showing the market values of our securities held in the customer’s accounts. A broker would be required to provide the bid and
offer quotations and compensation information before effecting the transaction. This information must be contained on the customer’s
confirmation. Generally, brokers are less willing to effect transactions in penny stocks due to these additional delivery requirements.
These requirements may make it more difficult for shareholders to purchase or sell the Common Shares of the Company. Since the broker,
not us, prepares this information, we would not be able to assure that such information is accurate, complete or current.
32
Substantial
future sales of Common Shares could cause the market price of our Common Shares to decline.
We
are contractually obligated to prepare and file with the SEC multiple registration statements providing for the resale of the substantial
majority of the outstanding Common Shares. Pursuant to the EPA, we may issue and sell up to $15 million of Common Shares to the Selling
Shareholder. The price at which we may issue and sell shares will be 95% of the lowest daily volume weighted average price of the Company’s
Common Shares on the NYSE American during the five (5) trading days immediately preceding the respective put notice date, in each case
as reported by Quotestream or other reputable source designated by the Selling Shareholder (the “Market Price”). Assuming
that (a) we issue and sell the full $15 million of Common Shares under the EPA to the Selling Shareholder, (b) no beneficial ownership
limitations, and (c) purchase price for such sales is $1.00 or $3.00 per share, such additional issuances would represent in the aggregate
approximately 15,000,000 or 5,000,000 additional Common Shares, respectively, or approximately 63% or 36% of the total number of Common Shares outstanding as of the date
hereof, after giving effect to such issuance. If the beneficial ownership limitation is not waived, we may issue approximately 269,480
Common Shares, or approximately 19.99% of the total number of Common Shares outstanding as of the date hereof. Assuming a (i) Market Price
of $ 0.92, (ii) no beneficial ownership limitations, and (iii) the receipt of stockholder approval to exceed the exchange cap, we may
issue up to 13,169,492 Common Shares, which would reflect approximately 150% of the outstanding shares of our Common Shares as of the
date hereof after giving effect to such issuances.
The
Market Price of our Common Shares on August 31, 2024, was $0.88. Assuming this is the Market Price used as a basis for the calculations
for the put notice under the EPA, the price per share for sales to the Selling Shareholder would be $0.84 (95% of the Market Price),
and we would be able to sell 269,480 shares to the Selling Shareholder (with beneficial ownership limit), and receive gross proceeds
of $226,363. Such number of shares would comprise approximately 19.99% of our issued and outstanding Common Shares, which would
result in additional dilution of our shareholders.
Furthermore,
while certain of the Selling Holders may experience a positive rate of return based on the current trading price of our Common Shares,
the public stockholders may not experience a similar rate of return on the securities they purchased due to differences in the purchase
prices paid by the public stockholders and the Selling Shareholder and the current trading price of our Common Shares. The Selling Shareholder
will be able to sell all of their Common Shares for so long as the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part is available
for use.
Investors
who buy shares at different times will likely pay different prices.
Pursuant
to the EPA, we will have discretion, subject to market demand, to vary the timing, prices and numbers of shares sold to Selling Shareholder.
If and when we do elect to sell shares of our Common Shares to Selling Shareholder pursuant to the EPA, after Selling Shareholder has
acquired such shares, Selling Shareholder may resell all, some or none of such shares at any time or from time to time in its discretion
and at different prices. As a result, investors who purchase shares from Selling Shareholder in this offering at different times will
likely pay different prices for those shares and so may experience different levels of dilution, and in some cases substantial dilution,
and different outcomes in their investment results. Investors may experience a decline in the value of the shares they purchase from
Selling Shareholder in this offering as a result of future sales made by us to Selling Shareholder at prices lower than the prices such
investors paid for their shares in this offering. In addition, if we sell a substantial number of shares to Selling Shareholder under
the EPA, or if investors expect that we will do so, the actual sales of shares or the mere existence of our arrangement with Selling
Shareholder may make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that
we might otherwise wish to effect such sales.
33
ITEM
1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not
applicable.
ITEM
IC. CYBERSECURITY
Not
applicable.
ITEM
2. PROPERTIES
Our
principal executive offices are located at Unit 200, 111 Gordon Baker Road, North York, Ontario M2H 3R1. The Company leases all its office
premises in Ontario, Canada. The Company extended the current premises of 4,894 sq. ft. lease to January 1, 2030 and acquired additional
premises of 8,368 square feet adjacent to the current office premises with the same landlord. The additional premises lease also expires
on January 1, 2030. The total area of use by The Company is 13,262 sq. ft. The Company recognized a right-of-use asset and corresponding
lease liability in respect of this lease. Our registered and records office is located at 67 Mowat Avenue, Suite 122, Toronto, Ontario
M6K 3E3. We believe that our current office space will be adequate for the foreseeable future.
ITEM
3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From
time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings, which arise in the ordinary course of business. Litigation
is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business.
We are currently not aware of any such legal proceedings or claims that will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse
effect on our business, financial condition or operating results.
ITEM
4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not
applicable.
PART
II
ITEM
5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market
Information
Our
common shares are listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “PAPL.”
Shareholders
As
of December 19, 2024, we had 95 shareholders of record . This does not include shares held in the name of a broker, bank, or other
nominees (typically referred to as being held in “street name”).
34
Dividend
Policy
We
have not, since the date of our incorporation, declared or paid any dividends or other distributions on our Common Shares, and do not
currently have a policy with respect to the payment of dividends or other distributions. We do not currently pay dividends and do not
intend to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. The declaration and payment of any dividends in the future is at the discretion of
the Board and will depend on numerous factors, including compliance with applicable laws, financial performance, working capital requirements
of the Company and its subsidiaries, as applicable and such other factors as its directors consider appropriate.
Unregistered
Sales of Equity Securities
Not
applicable.
ITEM
6. [RESERVED]
Not
applicable.
ITEM
7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITIONS AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
Please
read the following management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations, along with our consolidated
financial statements and the related notes and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. It is important to note
that this discussion and analysis contain forward-looking statements with certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties
could cause our results to differ materially from anticipated in these forward-looking statements. You can find more information about
these risks and uncertainties under the heading “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in Part I and elsewhere
in this Form 10- K.
Special
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This
Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements that entail potential risks and uncertainties. These statements are usually identified
by the use of specific terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,”
“expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,”
“should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other comparable terminology. All the statements
in this Form 10-K that are not about historical facts, including those related to our future operations, financial position, Revenue,
projected costs, strategy, plans, management objectives, and expected market growth, are forward-looking. While reading this Form 10-K,
you should know that these statements do not guarantee our performance or results. They include known and unknown risks, uncertainties,
and assumptions, as mentioned under the “Risk Factors” section in this Form 10-K. We believe that these forward- looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions. Still, you must be aware that many factors, including those mentioned under the “Risk
Factors” section in this Form 10-K, could affect our financial results or operations and cause actual results to differ from those
stated in the forward-looking statements. These statements were made as of the date of this Form 10-K, and we are not obligated to update
or revise any forward-looking statements made here to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions, or
circumstances on which these statements are based. All written or oral forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf are qualified
by the cautionary statements mentioned in this Form 10-K.
Objective
In
this section, we provide an analysis of the Company’s financial condition, cash flows, and results of operations from management’s
perspective. We recommend you read this with the consolidated financial statements and notes in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report
on Form 10K.
Executive
Summary
We
are a fintech company based in Ontario, Canada. Our tech-driven businesses are focused on mortgages and insurance. Our goal is to provide
clients with an industry-leading experience through our trusted digital solutions that are simple and fast.
35
Recent
Developments
Business
Trends
Throughout
2022 and 2023, the Bank of Canada raised the prime rate multiple times to address inflationary pressures, which significantly increased
mortgage interest rates. However, beginning in mid-2024, the Bank of Canada reduced the policy rate by 1.25%, aiming to stabilize the
economy and improve affordability. Despite this, the elevated mortgage rates and ongoing economic uncertainty continued to suppress demand
for mortgage originations in 2024. While the market shows early signs of recovery due to improved consumer confidence, the overall mortgage
origination market remained contracted compared to pre-2022 levels.
Summary
of the Year Ended August 31, 2024.
During
fiscal year ended August 31, 2024, we generated $ 1.529 billion in residential mortgage loans compared to $1.399 billion in the previous
financial year, which ended on August 31, 2023. This amount represents an increase of $130.462 million or 9.33% compared to the same
period that ended on August 31, 2023. Our net loss stood at $4.102 million for the year ended August 31, 2024, as compared to the $2.809
million recorded in the same period on August 31, 2023.
Key
Performance Indicators
As
part of our business operations, we closely track several key performance indicators (KPIs) that help us measure our performance. We
can evaluate our ability to generate revenue by monitoring our loan production KPIs and comparing our performance to the mortgage origination
market. Additionally, we use KPIs related to our technology setup and underwriting processes to assess our performance further.
Year Ended August 31,
2024
2023
2022
Mortgage volume
1,528,926,510
1,398,464,338
1,785,424,632
Gross billing
16,264,172
15,026,896
19,497,519
Commission expense
14,895,885
13,931,836
16,780,133
Net sales revenue
1,368,287
1,095,060
2,717,385
Underwriting revenue
153,757
148,080
266,731
Subscription revenue
738,697
736,708
616,734
Other income
428,246
522,416
266,731
Our
sources of revenue include commissions from lenders, underwriting revenue, membership fees from mortgage agents, and other income.
36
Gross
Billing Revenue:
Gross
billing revenue refer to commission collected from financial institutions with whom it has contracts in place. The Company’s
gross billing is based on a percentage of mortgage amount funded between individual referred by the Company and financial institutions
funding the mortgage. We are an agent in these deals as we provide the platform for other parties to provide services to the end-user.
For each contract with a customer, the Company identifies the contract with a customer; identifies the performance obligations in the
contract; determines the transaction price to the separate performance obligations on the basis of the relative stand-alone selling price
of each distinct good or service to be delivered; and recognizes revenue when or as each performance obligation is satisfied in a manner
that depicts the transfer to the customer of the goods or services promised. The Company recognizes revenue when: a contract exists with
a lender party and an agent broker, the contract identifies the use of the platform service to close a mortgage deal, the mortgage deal
has been closed with the lending financial institution, and commissions paid by the lending financial institution based on various criteria
of the mortgage deal including but not limited to interest rates available at that time, term, seasonality, collateral, income, purpose,
etc. Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for services
provided in the normal course of business. Revenue is recognized at the end of the deal upon completion of all the actions listed above.
A typical transaction attracts a commission fee payable to Pineapple Financial Inc.
Subscription
Revenue:
Users
access and use our technology platform, MyPineapple, for a flat monthly service fee of $117 In exchange for this fee, users of MyPineapple
have access to a network management system that allows them to perform back- office procedures more efficiently and effectively. This
platform will enable them to process the deal described above prepare, and complete the package for submission to be funded by the financial
institution. We have a strong user base, which has experienced significant growth since our inception. Revenue is recognized at the beginning
of the month when a user is invoiced and pays the fee.
Underwriting
Fee:
Users
can optionally use our expert risk pre-assessment service, which assists them in pre-underwriting their loans before submission to a
lender for approval and funding. This service significantly reduces the time for the lender partners’ assessment of the deal. For
mortgages of $390,000 and less, we charge an underwriting fee of $273; for mortgages greater than $300,000, the Company charges an underwriting
fee of $390. The Company has undertaken a special program to educate and inform users of this service in further detail. Approximately
40% of the deals originated by users are using this service. This program is intended to further increase the number of deals and
improve the services offered.
Other
Income:
Other
income includes a technology setup fee and sponsorship fee.
37
Components
of operating expenses
Our
operating expenses, as presented in the statement of operations data, include salaries, commissions and team member benefits, general
and administrative expenses, marketing and advertising expenses, and others.
Salaries
and commissions and team member benefits
All
payroll expenses include our team members’ salaries, commissions, and benefits.
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
Selling,
general and administrative expenses include software subscriptions, license fees, professional services, marketing expenses, and other
operating expenses.
Share-based
compensation
Share-based
compensation comprises equity awards and is measured and expensed accordingly under Accounting Standards Codification
(“ASC”) 718 Compensation—Stock Compensation.
Comparison
of the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
Year
Ended
August
31,
2024
($)
August
31,
2023
($)
Increase/
(Decrease)
($)
Increase/
(Decrease)
%
Revenue
2,688,987
2,502,264
186,723
7.46
Expenses
Selling,
general and administrative
2,382,225
2,170,149
212,076
9.77
Advertising
and Marketing
860,047
844,797
15,250
1.81
Salaries,
wages and benefits
2,436,783
2,330,127
106,656
4.48
Interest
expense and bank charges
93,472
56,316
37,156
65.98
Depreciation
838,843
441,159
397,684
90.15
Share-based
compensation
-
33,091
(33,091 )
(100.00 )
Government
Incentive
(97,646 )
(591,480 )
(493,834 )
(83.49 )
Total expense
6,513,724
5,284,159
1,229,562
23.27
Loss from
operations
(3,824,737 )
(2,781,895 )
1,042,842
37.49
(Loss)
Gain on extinguishment of liability
( 156,339 )
(27,143 )
129,196
475.98
Foreign
exchange gain (loss)
( 38,836 )
( 38,836 )
100.00 )
Gain(loss)
on change in fair value of warrant liability
63,769
-
63,769
100.00
Gain(loss)
on change in fair value of conversion feature liability
76,543
-
76,543
100.00
Accretion
expense
( 223,059 )
-
( 223,059 )
100.00
Loss before
income taxes
(4,102,659 )
(2,809,037 )
(1,293,622 )
46.05
Loss after
income taxes
(4,102,659 )
(2,809,037 )
(1,293,622 )
46.05
Revenue
Gross
billings increased from $15.027 million for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2023, to $16.264 million for the fiscal year ending August
31, 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 8.23%. To address high inflation, the Bank of Canada increased its policy rate from
2.5% on September 1, 2022, to 5.0% by August 31, 2023. However, beginning June 5, 2024, the Bank of Canada initiated rate reductions,
decreasing the policy rate by 125 basis points to 3.75%. While this reduction has the potential to bolster consumer confidence, the real
estate market remains subdued, contributing to decreased real estate transactions and a corresponding decline in mortgage activity.
38
Revenue for the year ended August 31, 2024, increased
to $2,688,988 from $2,502,264 in the year ended August 31, 2023, representing a 7.46% year-over-year growth. This increase is primarily
attributed to the Company’s efforts in enhancing its software offerings, which improved customer retention and attracted new agents.
Additionally, strategic investments in marketing and operational efficiency during a challenging economic environment contributed to
this positive performance despite the broader contraction in the mortgage origination market. This growth reflects the resilience of
the Company’s business model and its ability to adapt to fluctuating market conditions.
Cost
of gross billing
During
the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024, the cost of revenue increased to $14.895 million, compared to $13.932 million in the prior fiscal
year ended August 31, 2023. This increase aligns with the growth in gross billing and reflects higher transaction volumes. Additionally,
the cost increase is attributed to the company’s strategic focus on leveraging high-volume agents to drive business, who typically
operate at lower margins but generate higher transaction volumes, resulting in increased variable costs.
Selling,
General and Administrative Expenses.
The
breakdown of selling, general and administrative expenses are as follows:
Year Ended
August 31,
2024
($)
August 31,
2023
($)
Increase/
(Decrease)
($)
Increase/
(Decrease)
%
Software subscription
898,870
816,913
81,957
10.03
Office and general
199,756
187,818
11,938
6.36
Professional fee
414,482
661,265
(201,783 )
(30.52 )
Dues and subscription
269,106
58,366
210,740
361.07
Rent
207,560
165,750
41,810
25.22
Consulting fee
62,598
210,063
(147,465 )
(70.20 )
Travel
160,643
97,372
63,271
64.98
Donations
7,449
46,002
(38,553 )
(83.81 )
Lease expense
71,148
7,534
63,614
844.36
Insurance
90,613
(80,934 )
171,547
(211.96 )
2,382,225
2,170,149
212,076
9.77
Selling,
general, and administrative expenses increased by $212,076, or 9.77%, from $2,170,149 during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, to
$2,382,225 during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024. This increase reflects the company’s disciplined approach to maintaining
essential expenses amidst a depressed economic environment. Adjusting for inflation, expenses effectively decreased in real terms, demonstrating
the company’s commitment to cost efficiency and prudent financial management while ensuring sustained support for core operations
and strategic initiatives.
39
Software
subscription expenses increased by $81,957, or 10.03%, from $816,913 for the year ended August 31, 2023, to $898,870 for the year ended
August 31, 2024. This increase is primarily attributable to the continued development and enhancement of our proprietary software, which
necessitated the use of complementary third-party subscription tools. These tools have been critical in ensuring the software meets industry
standards and client expectations. Once our proprietary software is fully developed, reliance on external subscriptions is expected to
decrease significantly, leading to long-term cost savings and improved operational efficiency.
Office
and general expenses increased by $11,938 or 6.36%, from $187,818 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, to $199,756 for the fiscal
year ended August 31, 2024. This increase reflects the cost increase due to inflation.
Professional
fees decreased by $201,783, or 30.52%, from $661,265 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, to $414,482 for the fiscal year ended
August 31, 2024. This significant decrease is primarily attributable to the completion of IPO-related activities on November 3, 2023,
which resulted in a reduction in legal, accounting, and advisory expenses. During the prior year, the company incurred substantial costs
to achieve the IPO milestone. The decrease also reflects the transition to a steady-state operating environment post-IPO, with reduced
reliance on external consultants and professional services.
Dues
and subscriptions increased significantly from $58,366 during the year ended August 31, 2023, to $269,106 for the year ended August 31,
2024, representing a 361.07% increase. This substantial rise is primarily attributable to additional regulatory and listing fees incurred
following the Company’s IPO, including NYSE subscription fees and other compliance-related charges. These fees are essential to
maintaining our public listing and ensuring compliance with the regulatory requirements of a publicly traded company.
Consulting
fees decreased significantly by $147,465, or 70.20%, from $210,063 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, to $62,598 for the fiscal
year ended August 31, 2024. This decline is primarily attributed to the completion of IPO-related activities, which required substantial
consulting support in the prior year. The decrease also reflects the company’s strategic shift toward utilizing in-house resources
for post-IPO operations and a focus on optimizing recurring expenses to align with the company’s long-term cost management initiatives.
Travel
expenses increased by $63,271, or 64.98%, from $97,372 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, to $160,643 for the fiscal year ended
August 31, 2024. This increase reflects higher management travel to attend investor conferences and engage with stakeholders to present
the company’s vision and growth strategy, a critical activity following the IPO. Additionally, the company prioritized in-person
meetings with institutional investors and partners to strengthen relationships, which are expected to drive long-term value creation.
40
Expenses
Year Ended
August 31,
2024
($)
August 31,
2023
($)
Increase/
(Decrease)
($)
Increase/
(Decrease)
%
Advertising and marketing
860,047
844,797
15,250
1.81
Salaries, wages and benefits
2,436,783
2,330,127
106,656
4.58
Interest expense and bank charges
93,472
56,316
37,156
65.98
Depreciation
838,843
441,159
397,684
90.15
Share based compensation
-
33,091
(33,091 )
(100.00 )
Government incentive
(97,646 )
(591,480 )
(493,834 )
(83.49 )
Advertising,
marketing, and promotions expenses increased by $15,250, or 1.81%, from $844,797 for the year ended August 31, 2023, to $860,047 for
the year ended August 31, 2024. This increase reflects the company’s strategic efforts to retain agents and sustain sales revenue
amidst challenging economic and real estate market conditions. Additional investments were made to enhance brand visibility and strengthen
relationships with key stakeholders to maintain market share during this period of economic uncertainty. These initiatives are expected
to position the company for growth as market conditions improve.
Salaries,
wages, and benefits increase by $106,656, or 4.58%, from $2,330,127 for
the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, to $2,436,783 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024. This nominal increase reflects the company’s
efforts to align compensation with inflation while maintaining a disciplined approach to expense management. The nominal increase also
supports retaining key talent and ensuring competitive employee benefits during a challenging economic environment, which is essential
for sustaining business continuity and future growth.
Depreciation
and Amortization
Pineapple
Financial continues to actively invest in the development of its proprietary software to enhance functionality and meet market demands.
During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024, $1.112 million was capitalized as intangible assets, primarily representing salaries, wages,
and benefits of staff directly involved in the development process. This strategic investment underscores the Company’s commitment
to innovation and long-term growth. The increase in intangible assets has contributed to higher amortization expenses during the year,
reflecting the progressive utilization of these investments in delivering value to our operations and clients.
41
Government
based incentive
During
the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, the Company successfully claimed and received Scientific Research and Experimental Development
(SR&ED) tax credits from the CRA for the fiscal years ended August 31, 2022, and August 31, 2021. These claims provided a valuable
source of non-dilutive funding to support the Company’s innovation initiatives. However, following the completion of our IPO on
November 3, 2023, the Company no longer qualifies for SR&ED tax credits under CRA regulations, resulting in a decrease in credit
recognition for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024. This change reflects the Company’s transition to a publicly traded status,
and we are actively exploring alternative funding opportunities to support ongoing research and development efforts.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Our
primary liquidity needs encompass working capital and capital expenditures, specifically those associated with technological enhancements,
investments in skilled personnel, and marketing services. These three categories have constituted a significant portion of our liquidity
and capital resource demands throughout the year. We primarily utilize cash on hand and cash flows generated from our operations to meet
these requirements.
The
following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities:
Year Ended
August 31,
2024
($)
August 31,
2023
($)
Increase/
(Decrease)
($)
Cash (used) provided in operating activities
(1,708,261 )
(2,116,105 )
407,843
Cash (used) provided by financing activities
2,912,627
349,008
2,563,619
Cash (used) provided in investing activities
(1,117,390 )
(1,362,298 )
244,908
Cash at the end of the period
580,356
720,365
(140,009 )
Net
cash flow from (used in) operating activities
Year
Ended
Description
August
31,
2024
($)
August
31,
2023
($)
Operating
activities
Net
loss
(4,102,659 )
(2,809,037 )
Adjustments
for the following non-cash items:
Depreciation
of property and equipment
87,803
67,674
Amortization
of intangible assets
616,532
265,150
Depreciation
on right of use asset
134,508
108,335
Interest
expense on lease liability
62,604
56,316
Share-based
compensation
-
33,091
Write-down
of investment
-
27,143
Change
in fair value of warrant liabilities
63,769
-
Accretion
expense
223,059
-
Loss
on extinguishment of liability
156,339
Foreign
exchange gain (loss)
38,836
-
Chang
in fair value of conversion feature liability
(76,543
)
-
Net
changes in non-cash working capital balances:
Trade
and other receivables
603,764
(26,242 )
Prepaid
expenses and deposits
60,239
265,545
Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
519,943
(174,795 )
Income
taxes receivable
-
70,715
Deferred
Government Grant
(208,376 )
-
Deferred
revenue
111,921
-
(1,708,261 )
(2,116,105 )
42
Our
primary source of cash flow comes from our core business operations.
During
the year ended August 31, 2024, the Company’s net cash used in operating activities decreased to $1,708,261 from $2,116,105 in
the previous year ended August 31, 2023. This decrease of outflow of cash was primarily due to lower cash expenses as compared to the previous year.
Net
cash flow from (used in) financing activities
During
the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024, the Company successfully closed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on November 3, 2023, generating
net proceeds of $2,751,937. These funds have strengthened the Company’s financial position and provided critical capital to support
strategic initiatives, including investments in proprietary software development, expansion of operational capabilities, and enhancing
shareholder value. The successful IPO marks a significant milestone in the Company’s growth journey, enabling access to broader
capital markets and positioning the business for future opportunities. In addition, company issued share capital through conversion note
and equity purchase agreement with Brownstone.
Net
cash flow from (used in) investing activities
During
the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024, the Company invested $1,112,399 in developing proprietary software designed to streamline and
enhance the accuracy of mortgage application processes for field agents. This investment reflects the Company’s commitment to leveraging
technology to improve operational efficiency and provide a competitive edge in the mortgage industry. The enhanced software is expected
to not only attract new mortgage agents but also improve agent retention by offering a comprehensive and user-friendly solution, positioning
the Company for sustainable growth in a competitive market.
As
of August 31, 2024, the Company’s cash balance was $580,356, a decrease from $720,365 on August 31, 2023.
The
Company’s capital structure consists of contributed common shares, accumulated deficit, additional paid-in capital, and other comprehensive
losses. Its primary sources of liquidity are cash generated through operations and capital raised from investors through the issuance
of common shares. The Company remains committed to meeting all financial and operational obligations as they come due, maintaining a
disciplined approach to liquidity management.
Future
capital requirements will depend on several factors, including planned investments in technology, market expansion initiatives, and overall
growth trajectory. While the Company continues to actively manage controllable factors, external variables such as interest rates and
real estate market conditions remain potential challenges. By aligning its financial strategies with operational priorities, the Company
is well-positioned to navigate these uncertainties and achieve sustainable long-term growth.
43
The
following table presents our liquidity:
Year Ended
August 31,
2024
($)
August 31,
2023
($)
Cash
580,356
720,365
Trade and other receivables
155,224
758,988
Prepaid expenses and deposit
157,910
218,150
893,490
1,697,503
As
of August 31, 2024, Pineapple Financial maintained a liquidity position with $580,356 in cash and along with trade
and other receivables, prepaid expenses, and deposits, demonstrating the Company’s ability to meet its short-term obligations.
However, cash decreased by $140,009 compared to August 31, 2023. This decrease was primarily driven by strategic
investments in the expansion of operations and technology development to strengthen the Company’s competitive position.
Additionally,
broader macroeconomic challenges, including a depressed Canadian real estate market and economic headwinds, have impacted liquidity during
the year. Despite these challenges, Pineapple Financial remains focused on prudent financial management, ensuring that resources are
allocated efficiently to support growth while maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet ongoing obligations.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
This
management’s discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements,
which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and
assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of
the financial statements, and the reported amounts of Revenue and expenses during the reported period. Per U.S. GAAP, we base our estimates
on historical experience and various other assumptions we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ
from these estimates if conditions differ from our assumptions. While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in
Note 2 in the “Notes to Financial Statements,” we believe the following accounting policies are critical to making effective
judgments and estimates in preparing our financial statements.
44
Revenue
Recognition
The
Company has adopted ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which provides a single comprehensive model for revenue recognition.
The core principle of the standard is that Revenue should be recognized when goods or services are transferred to customers at an amount
that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The standard introduced
a new contract- based revenue recognition model with a measurement approach that is based on an allocation of the transaction price.
It establishes a five-step model to account for Revenue arising from contracts with customers. Under this standard, Revenue is recognized
at an amount that reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring goods or services
to a customer. The standard requires entities to exercise judgement, taking into consideration all of the relevant facts and circumstances
when applying each step of the model to contracts with customers. Additionally, the standard specifies the accounting for incremental
costs of obtaining a contract and the costs directly related to fulfilling a contract.
When
the Company transfers goods or services to a customer, Revenue is recognized at an amount that reflects the consideration expected to
be received.
The
Company operates an online platform powered by Salesforce, that enables brokers and agents to efficiently close deals.
The
Company’s subsidiary, Pineapple Insurance Inc., generates Revenue by charging premiums for insurance policies and services. Pineapple
Insurance is affiliated with a major insurance company, from which it earns commissions for providing services, primarily mortgage insurance.
Mortgage insurance is a requirement for each mortgage. Pineapple Insurance acts as the agent that supplies insurance services to the
consumer and is paid a commission from the premiums collected by the insurance company whose products and services it provides to the
end consumer. Additionally, Pineapple Insurance has adopted ASC 606.
Basis
of presentation, functional and presentation currency
The
Company’s headquarters is in Ontario, Canada, and the functional currency is in Canadian Dollars (CAD) with the presentation currency
being US Dollars (USD). The Company’s subsidiaries have a functional currency of CAD and presentation currency of USD which have
been applied consistently.
There
will be a foreign currency translation undertaken to report under US GAAP which will be the basis of presentation.
Lease
Accounting
The
relevant criteria applicable is ASC 842. We assess at contract inception whether a contract is, or contains, a lease. That is, if the
contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. We apply a single
recognition and measurement approach for all leases, except for short-term leases and leases of low-value assets. We recognize lease
liabilities to make lease payments and right-of- use assets representing the right to use the underlying assets.
45
At
the commencement date of the lease, we recognize lease liabilities measured at the present value of lease payments to be made over the
lease term. Lease payments include fixed payments (including in-substance fixed payments) less any lease incentives receivable, variable
lease payments that depend on an index or a rate, and amounts expected to be paid under residual value guarantees. Lease payments also
include the exercise price of a purchase option reasonably certain to be exercised by us and payments of penalties for terminating the
lease, if the lease term reflects us exercising the option to terminate. Variable lease payments that do not depend on an index or a
rate are recognized as expenses in the period in which the event or condition that triggers the payment occurs. In calculating the present
value of lease payments, we use our incremental borrowing rate at the lease commencement date because the interest rate implicit in the
lease is not readily determinable. After the commencement date, the amount of lease liabilities is increased to reflect the accretion
of interest and reduced for the lease payments made. In addition, the carrying amount of lease liabilities is remeasured if there is
a modification, a change in the lease term, a change in the lease payments (e.g., changes to future payments resulting from a change
in an index or rate used to determine such lease payments) or a change in the assessment of an option to purchase the underlying asset.
We
recognize right-of-use assets at the commencement date of the lease (i.e., the date the underlying asset is available for use). Right-of-use
assets are measured at cost, less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses, and adjusted for any remeasurement of lease liabilities.
The cost of right-of-use assets includes the amount of lease liabilities recognized, initial direct costs incurred, and lease payments
made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentives received. Right-of-use assets are depreciated on a straight-line basis
over the shorter of the lease term and the estimated useful lives of the assets.
Investments
We
invested in a commercial mortgage firm, MCommercial, based in Montreal and Toronto, Canada representing 5% of the total issued and outstanding
shares. This strategic partnership allows Pineapple residential mortgage agents to have access to a leading commercial mortgage firm
and experts, which will expand their product offerings, service levels and corporate Revenue through increased transactions.
The
Company entered into a share purchase agreement with 9142-2964 Quebec Inc. pursuant to which the Company acquired five Class A Shares
of 7326904 Canada Inc. (dba as Mortgage Alliance Corporation) (“Alliance”), representing 5% of the total issued and outstanding
shares of Alliance. Alliance is a mortgage brokerage firm based in Ontario, Canada with locations in Calgary, Vancouver and Halifax.
The
total amount of both investments was recorded at fair value, and any impairment loss is recognized in profit and loss account.
46
Share
Based Compensation
Stock-based
compensation is accounted for based on the requirements of the Share-Based Payment Topic of ASC 718, “Compensation — Stock
Compensation” (“ASC 718”), which requires recognition in the financial statements of the cost of employee, non-employee
and director services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments over the period the employee, non-employee or director
is required to perform the services in exchange for the award (presumptively, the vesting period). ASC 718 also requires measurement
of the cost of employee, non- employee, and director services received in exchange for an award based on the grant-date fair value of
the award.
The
Company has a share option plan (the “Plan”) to attract, retain and motivate qualified directors, officers, employees, and
consultants whose present and future contributions are important to the success of the Company by offering them an opportunity to participate
in the Company’s future performance through the award of share options.
Each
share option converts into one common share of Pineapple Financial Inc. on exercise. No amounts are paid or payable by the recipient
on receipt of the option. The options carry neither right to dividends nor voting rights. Options may be exercised at any time from the
date of vesting to the date of their expiry.
In
2017, the Plan was amended such that the total number of common shares reserved and available for grant and issuance pursuant to the
Plan is to equal 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company.
Options
granted on June 14, 2021, vest over a 2-year period whereby 25% of the options granted vested on the date of grant, and the remaining
unvested options vest in equal instalments every 6-months thereafter. The fair value of stock options granted was $1,317,155. These options were fully vested in year ended August 31, 2023.
On
July 6, 2023, we completed a 1-for-3.9 reverse stock split, or the Reverse Split, effective immediately. Consequently, all the share
numbers, shares prices, and exercise prices have been retroactively adjusted in these condensed interim consolidated financial statements
for all periods presented.
47
Controls
and Procedures
While
the Company is not currently required to maintain an effective internal controls system, we recognize the importance of strong internal
controls and have proactively initiated steps to establish and enhance our control environment. These measures include:
● Employing
skilled staff in financial, accounting, and external reporting roles, focusing on segregation
of duties.
● Conducting
regular reconciliations to ensure accurate recording, correct classification, and balanced
books.
● Ensuring
timely and accurate recording of expenses, liabilities, and other accounting entries in accordance
with the matching principle.
● Maintaining
a detailed fixed assets register to track users, departments, and assets.
● Requiring
internal review and approval of accounting transactions by at least two independent personnel.
● Documenting
processes, assumptions, and conclusions related to significant estimates.
● Establishing
comprehensive documentation of accounting policies and procedures.
As
of August 31, 2024, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our principal executive officer and principal
financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Based on this assessment,
management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of August 31, 2024.
Improvements
made during the year include implementing independent reviews, approval processes for transactions and reconciliations, and hiring additional
personnel to strengthen our control environment. Plans are underway to further enhance controls by segregating duties and improving processes,
ensuring robust and effective internal controls that support the integrity of our financial reporting.
Financial
Instruments
As
on August 31, 2024, the Company’s financial instruments consist of cash, trade and other receivables, investments, accounts payable
and accrued liabilities.
48
As
per ASC 820, Fair value measurement establishes a fair value hierarchy based on the level of independence, objective evidence surrounding
the inputs used to measure fair value. A financial instrument’s categorizing within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the
lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
i)
Level 1 fair value measurements are those derived from quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
ii)
Level 2 fair value measurements are those derived from inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for
the asset or liability, either
directly (i.e., as prices) or indirectly (i.e., derived from prices); and
iii)
Level 3 fair value measurements are those derived from valuation techniques that include inputs for the asset or liability that are not
based on observable market data (unobservable inputs).
The
following table provides the fair values of the financial assets in the Company’s consolidated statements of financial position,
categorized by hierarchical levels and their related classifications.
As of August 31, 2024
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Total
Assets:
Cash
580,356
580,356
Investment
10,042
10,042
Risks
and Uncertainties
The
Company’s business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described elsewhere in this MD&A, as well
as general economic and market risks. These risk factors could materially affect the Company’s future operating results and could
cause actual events to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information relating to the Company.
Item
7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
As
part of our regular business operations, we face various risks that can impact our profitability and operations. These risks can be
broadly categorized as interest rate risk, credit risk, counterparty risk, and risks associated with the pandemics like COVID-19.
Interest
rate risk
We
do not face interest rate risk as we do not have any variable-rate loans or borrowings.
49
Credit
risk
Credit
risk is the risk of financial loss to the Corporation if a counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its contractual obligations.
The Corporation’s credit risk is mainly attributable to its cash and trade and other receivables.
The
Corporation has determined that its exposure to credit risk on its cash is minimal as the Corporation’s cash is held with financial institutions in Canada.
Our
primary source of credit risk relates to the possibility of Core Business Operation’s brokerages or other customers not paying
receivables. Core Business Operations manages its credit risk by performing credit risk evaluations on its brokerages and agents and
monitoring overdue trade and other receivables. As of August 31, 2024, $37,800 of our trade receivables are greater than 90 days outstanding,
as compared to $2,572 for August 31, 2023. A decline in economic conditions or other adverse conditions experienced by brokerage and
agents could impact the collectability of the Corporation’s accounts receivable.
Our
maximum exposure to credit risk approximates the carrying value of the assets on the Corporation’s consolidated statements of financial
position.
Year Ended
August 31,
2024
($)
August 31,
2023
($)
Cash
580,356
720,365
Trade and other receivables
155,224
758,988
Prepaid expenses and deposit
157,910
218,150
893,490
1,697,503
Liquidity
risk
Liquidity
risk is the risk that the Company will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they become due. The Company’s approach
in managing liquidity is to ensure, to the extent possible, that it will have sufficient liquidity to meet its liabilities when due,
by continuously monitoring actual and forecasted cash flows. As of August 31, 2024, the Company’s contractual cash flow obligations
and their maturities are as follows:
Cash flow
under
contract
($)
Within
1 year
Greater
than
1 year
($)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
1,125,477
1,125,477
-
Lease obligations
977,107
161,508
815,599
50
ITEM
8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
The
Company’s consolidated financial statements and report of independent registered public accounting firm MNP LLP with the PCAOB
ID: 1930 is contained in pages F-1 through F-17, which appear at the end of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
ITEM
9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.
ITEM
9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We
are transitioning to and will maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be
disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and timely reported as provided
in SEC rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, as appropriate, to allow for timely
decisions regarding required disclosure. We will periodically review the design and effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures,
including compliance with various laws and regulations that apply to our operations. We will make modifications to improve the design
and effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and may take other corrective action if our reviews identify a need for such
modifications or actions. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, we recognize that any controls and procedures,
no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and we will
apply judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. In addition, the design of any system
of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that
any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate
because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations
in a control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Management’s
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Pursuant
to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Company’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate
internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). The Company’s
internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial
reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with US GAAP.
All
internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective
can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Because of the inherent limitations,
internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to
future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance
with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
As
of August 31, 2024, management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on the
criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO). Based on its assessment using those criteria, management concluded that the Company maintained effective internal
control over financial reporting as of August 31, 2024.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There
have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our last fiscal quarter that have materially
affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Attestation
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
This
Annual Report does not include an attestation report of our registered independent public accounting firm regarding internal control
over financial reporting due to an exemption established by the JOBS Act for “emerging growth companies.”
ITEM
9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
No
officer, as defined in Rule 16a-1(f), or director adopted
and/or terminated
a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement”
or a “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K, during the fourth fiscal quarter of
2023.
None .
ITEM
9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS.
Not
applicable.
51
PART
III
ITEM
10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
Executive
Officers and Directors
The
following table sets forth the name, age and position of each of our executive officers, key employees and directors.
Name
Age
Position(s)
Date
Appointed
Shubha
Dasgupta
44
Chief
Executive Officer and Director
October
16, 2015
Sarfraz
Habib
53
Chief
Financial Officer
April
10, 2023
Christa
Mitchell
42
Chief
Strategy Officer
April
1, 2020
Kendall
Marin
48
President,
COO, and Director
October
16, 2015
Drew
Green
49
Chairman
of the Board
May
6, 2019
Paul
Baron
61
Director
August
19, 2016
Tasis
Giannoukakis
61
Director
August
19, 2016
Nima
Besharat
43
Director
May
26, 2021
Shubha
Dasgupta , Chief Executive Officer and Director
Since
entering the mortgage industry in 2008, Shubha has been focused on positively disrupting the sector by leveraging technology and putting
people at the heart of the business. Shubha’s unique vision and expertise have allowed him to build and grow the Company (formerly
CLC Network), which now has over 500 brokers in its network. Under his leadership, the company has built a world-class proprietary data-driven
Client Relationship Management (CRM) Platform, which is the first full-circle mortgage process for agents, offering a more personalized
experience for clients. Shubha’s deep understanding of business and industry trends, coupled with the ability to drive best-in-class
customer experience and profitability have enabled him to infuse vision and purpose in his professional endeavors throughout his career.
An award-winning executive and seasoned industry expert, Shubha was recognized among the “2020 Mortgage Global 100” top executives
who are inciting positive change and growth within the field. Since 2018, he has also been featured for four consecutive years in the
annual Canadian Mortgage Professional’s Hot List which highlights the industry’s top leaders. In 2021, he was appointed President
of the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association (CMBA) Ontario Board of Directors, after serving a second year on the Board of Directors.
An active member in the Toronto community, Shubha is a philanthropic leader for various non-profit organizations. Since 2010, he has
been a devoted advocate in the fight against cancer. Prior to joining the mortgage industry, he headed a group of volunteers for the
Canadian Cancer Society for eight years. In 2017, he also co-founded CMI Cancer Fighters, a group of Canadian mortgage industry professionals
dedicated to the fight against cancer on which he currently chairs.
Mr.
Dasgupta has been the Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company since October 16, 2015 and before that was a Mortgage Broker
at Bedrock Financial Group between August 2008 and October 2016.
Sarfraz
Habib, Chief Financial Officer
Sarfraz
Habib is a finance executive with over 25 years of expertise in finance and accounting. As the current CFO of Pineapple, Sarfraz oversees
the company’s financial operations and strategy. He is an experienced professional in the finance and accounting arena, with a
notable background working for several large publicly listed organizations. He has extensive knowledge of financial planning and analysis,
budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting. Sarfraz holds Chartered Accountant qualifications. Sarfraz’s experience includes
serving as Controller and a board member of Keystroke Group Inc., where he streamlined the company’s accounting and finance processes
and was twice awarded the Employee of the Year honors. In his current role at Pineapple, Sarfraz oversees all financial operations, including
accounting, financial planning, and analysis.
Mr.
Habib has been the Chief Financial Officer of the Company since April 10, 2023.
52
Christa
Mitchell , Chief Strategy Officer
An
established professional in the mortgage industry, Christa has more than 15 years of experience in sales, technology, and executive management.
In previous roles at Mortgage Alliance, she succeeded in growing and managing a 90-members independently owned affiliate brokerage network
and championing the company’s enterprise technology platform, where she was responsible for sales, education and the support team.
While Vice President of Operations at her previous position, she directed corporate administration, payroll systems, broker recognition
and networking events. In 2020, she was recognized in the Canadian Mortgage Professional’s annual ‘Women of Influence’,
which highlights female leaders who have been breaking down barriers in the mortgage industry and making it more inclusive. Christa brings
over 15 years of sales, technology, and administrative experience in the mortgage industry. Most recently Christa excelled as the company’s
Vice President of Operations where she directed corporate administration, payroll systems, broker recognition and networking events.
Ms.
Mitchell has been the Chief Strategy Officer of the Company since April 2020. From April 1, 2020 to September 5, 2024, Ms. Mitchel served
as a member of our board of directors. Before that, Ms. Mitchell was the Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Sales, Service
and User Experience of Mortgage Alliance between September 2005 and March 2020.
Kendall
Marin , President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
Mr.
Marin has been the President and Chief Operating Officer and a director of the Company since October 16, 2015. Before that, Kendall was
a Mortgage Broker for InTrend Mortgage Inc. between January 2012 and October 2015 and prior to that was a franchise owner at Property
Guys between May 2010 and January 2013.
Kendall
has been leading the growth of the company with regard to fine-tuning of business processes to ensure maximum productivity. His proven
expertise, focus on excellence and dedication have enabled him to build and expand the Company’s network, as well as the company’s
proprietary data-driven Client Relationship Management (CRM) platform.
Kendall
has had a career both in the corporate world and as a seasoned entrepreneur. At the age of 16, he created his own entertainment and promotion
company, which was highly successful in Toronto throughout the 2000s. Later on, when Kendall was ready to take on his next challenge,
he joined Canada’s top telecom company Bell, where he became the youngest Associate Director. In 2012, he made his debut in the
mortgage industry where he has applied his leadership, organizational and management skills to a new industry.
Since
2018, he has been featured for three consecutive years in the annual Canadian Mortgage Professional’s Hot List which recognizes
the industry’s top leaders.
Drew
Green , Chairman of the Board
Drew
Green is President and Chief Executive Officer of INDOCHINO, growing the brand by over 600% between 2015- 2022, delivering nine figures
in revenue in 2018, currently with 86 showrooms across North America and operations globally. Mr. Green has been recognized as Entrepreneur
of the Year by Ernst & Young, US Retailer of the Year, Innovator of the Year, along with other awards during his career. At INDOCHINO,
Mr. Green has established strategic capital from Madrona Venture Partners, Highland Consumer, Dayang Group, Mitsui & Co. (TSE: 8031)
and Postmedia Network, (TSX: PNC.B) along with partnerships with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Nordstrom, and hundreds of National
Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL), and National Hockey League (NHL) teams, athletes
and celebrities.
In
addition, Mr. Green is a Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of EMERGE Commerce Ltd. (TSXV: ECOM), a diversified, acquirer
and operator of Direct to Consumer (DTC) e-commerce brands across North America. He also serves as Chairman of Real Luck Group Ltd. (TSXV:
LUCK), a company that offers legal, real-money betting, live streams, and statistics on all major e-sports and sports on desktop and
mobile devices and Chairman American Aires Inc. (CSE: WIFI) a Canadian-based nanotechnology company which has developed proprietary silicon-based
microprocessors that reduce the harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) along with being Chairman of Gravitas III (TSXV:TRIG.P).
Through his family office DREWGREEN.CA INC., Mr. Green has become a mentor to dozens of Canadian entrepreneurs, becoming a founder, chairman,
and/ or a shareholder in dozens of private and public companies that drive innovation and growth, including Riverdale Rentals, Pineapple
Financial, Apollo Insurance, Parvis Invest (TSXV: PVIS), OR Collective, Yourika, Cloudrep AI and Between Co., a company founded by York
University alumni.
53
Drew
served as a Director at The Scarborough Hospital Foundation for many years, and has established the Drew Green Thunderbird Award at the
University of British Columbia and The Drew Green Lions Award at York University, providing student-athletes at both institutions with
scholarships. He currently is a director on York University’s Alumni Board, Canada’s fourth-largest university, with approximately
55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, and over 325,000 alumni worldwide.
Paul
Baron , Director
Paul
is a veteran Real Estate Executive with over 30 years of experience working with both residential and commercial properties. In his first
year as a Sales Representative for Family Trust Realty, he sold 37 homes, quickly demonstrating both his sales smarts and entrepreneurial
drive. He has held various positions with increasing responsibility and is currently the owner of Century 21 Leading Edge Realty, a real
estate brokerage with nine offices, six satellite offices, and over 800 agents and employees. He is currently serving as the Central
Brokerage Director on the Toronto Real Estate Board’s (TREB) Board of Directors.
Mr.
Baron has been a Director of the Company since August 19, 2016. Prior to his position with the Company, Mr. Baron was the President of
Century 21 Leading Edge Reality Inc. since November 1994.
Tasis
Giannoukakis , Director
Tasis
is an owner, broker, and manager of Century 21 Leading Edge Realty, a real estate brokerage with nine offices, six satellite offices,
and over 800 agents and employees. In 2019, his team had more sales than any other Century 21 franchise in Canada and broke into the
company’s worldwide top five. He has been with Century 21 Leading Edge Realty for over 20 years, and the firm continues its expansion
through acquisitions of other firms to further solidify their position in the Canadian Real Estate market.
Mr.
Giannoukakis has been a Director of the Company since August 19, 2016. Prior to such, he was a Broker/Owner of Century 21 Leading Edge
Reality Inc. since August 2004.
Nima
Besharat , Director
Nima
currently serves as Director of Investment Banking at Gravitas Securities Inc., a Canadian leading full-service investment dealer where
he helps with the advisory, restructuring, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions mandates across the firm’s platform.
Gravitas Securities Inc. is a full-service investment dealer platform registered with Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of
Canada (IIROC) and a member of Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Nima has experience in wealth management and asset management at Scotiabank
(TSX: BNS) and TD Bank Group (TSX: TD).
Nima
holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from Western University, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons.) from the University of Sheffield,
a Master of Laws in International Business Law from King’s College London, University of London (Dr. Peter Dyne Scholar), and a
Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (Corporate Finance) from the University of Law (UK). Nima was called to the bar in Ontario in
2017. He has completed the Canadian Securities Course, Conduct and Practices Handbook Course, Chief Compliance Officers Qualifying Exam
and the Partners, Directors and Senior Officers Course through the Canadian Securities Institute. Nima was nominated for the Investment
Industry Association of Canada (IIAC) Top 40 Under 40 Award in 2020, recognizing professionals whose accomplishments have brought distinction
to the investment/financial industry.
54
Directorships
Some
of the directors of the Company serve on the boards of directors of other reporting issuers (or the equivalent) in Canada or foreign
jurisdictions. The following table lists the directors of the Company who serve on boards of directors of other reporting issuers (or
the equivalent) and the identities of such reporting issuers (or the equivalent).
Name
of Director
Reporting
Issuers (or the Equivalent)
Drew
Green
EMERGE Commerce Ltd.
American Aires Inc.
Real Luck Group Ltd.
Parvis Invest Inc.
Gravitas III Capital Corp.
The
Board has determined that these inter-locking directorships do not adversely impact the effectiveness of these directors on the Board
or create any potential for conflicts of interest. However, certain of the Company’s directors are, or may become, directors, officers
or shareholders of other companies with businesses which may conflict with the Company’s business.
Orientation
and Continuing Education
The
Company has not yet established a formal orientation or education procedure for newly incoming directors. Board members are encouraged
to communicate with management and auditors, to keep themselves current with industry trends and developments, and to attend related
industry seminars. Board members have full access to the Company’s records.
Family
Relationships
None
of our directors or executive officers has a family relationship as defined in Item 401 of Regulation S-K.
Director
Assessment
The
Board is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate system is in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the Board as a whole, the individual
committees of the Board, and the individual members of the Board and such committees with a view of ensuring that they are fulfilling
their respective responsibilities and duties. In connection with such evaluations, each director is required to provide his assessment
of the effectiveness of the Board and each committee as well as the performance of the individual directors, annually. Such evaluations
take into account the competencies and skills each director is expected to bring to his particular role on the Board or on a committee,
as well as any other relevant factors.
Arrangements
between Officers and Directors
Except
as set forth herein, to our knowledge, there is no arrangement or understanding between any of our officers or directors and any other
person pursuant to which the officer or director was selected to serve as an officer or director.
Involvement
in Certain Legal Proceedings
We
are not aware of any of our directors or officers being involved in any legal proceedings in the past ten years relating to any matters
in bankruptcy, insolvency, criminal proceedings (other than traffic and other minor offenses), or being subject to any of the items set
forth under Item 401(f) of Regulation S-K.
Board
Committees
Our
Board directs the management of our business and affairs and conducts its business through meetings of the Board and its standing committees.
As of the date hereof, the Board has established an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee. In addition, from time to time, special committees may be established under the direction of the board of directors when necessary
to address specific issues.
Audit
Committee
The
Company has formed an Audit Committee comprised of Paul Baron, Drew Green (Chair) and Tasis Giannoukakis. Our Board has affirmatively
determined that each meets the definition of “independent director” under the listing rules of the NYSE American, and that
they meet the independence standards under Rule 10A-3. Each member of our audit committee can read and understand fundamental financial
statements in accordance with the SEC and the NYSE American audit committee requirements. In arriving at this determination, the Board
has examined each audit committee member’s scope of experience and the nature of their prior and/or current employment.
55
The
Audit Committee provides assistance to the Board in fulfilling its obligations relating to the integrity of the internal financial controls
and financial reporting of the Company. The external auditors of the Company report directly to the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee’s
primary duties and responsibilities set forth in the Audit Committee’s charter include the following: (i) reviewing and reporting
to the Board on the annual audited financial statements (including the auditor’s report thereon) and unaudited interim financial
statements and any related management’s discussion and analysis, if any, and other financial disclosure related thereto that may
be required to be reviewed by the Audit Committee pursuant to applicable legal and regulatory requirements; (ii) overseeing the audit
function, including engaging in required discussions with the Company’s external auditor and reviewing a summary of the annual
audit plan, overseeing the independence of the Company’s external auditor, overseeing the Company’s internal auditor, and
pre-approving any non-audit services to the Company; (iii) reviewing with management and the Company’s external auditors the integrity
of the internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure; (iv) reviewing management reports related to legal or compliance matters
that may have a material impact on the Company and the effectiveness of the Company’s compliance policies; and (v) maintaining,
reviewing and updating the Company’s whistleblowing procedures.
Relevant
Education and Experience
Each
proposed member of the Audit Committee has adequate education and experience that is relevant to their performance as an Audit Committee
member and, in particular, the requisite education and experience that have provided the member with:
(a)
an
understanding of the accounting principles used by the Company to prepare its financial statements and the ability to assess the
general application of those principles in connection with estimates, accruals and reserves;
(b)
experience
preparing, auditing, analyzing or evaluating financial statements that present a breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues
that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of issues that can reasonably be expected to be raised by the Company’s
financial statements or experience actively supervising individuals engaged in such activities; and
(c)
an
understanding of internal controls and procedures for financial reporting.
For
a summary of the experience and education of the Audit Committee members see “Directors and Executive Officers”.
Audit
Committee Oversight
At
no time since the commencement of the Company’s financial year was a recommendation of the Audit Committee to nominate or compensate
an external auditor not adopted by the Board.
Pre-Approval
Policies and Procedures
The
Audit Committee mandate requires that the Audit Committee pre-approve any retainer of the auditor of the Company to perform any non-audit
services to the Company that it deems advisable in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements and policies and procedures
of the Board. The Audit Committee is permitted to delegate pre-approval authority to one of its members; however, the decision of any
member of the Audit Committee to whom such authority has been delegated must be presented to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled
meeting.
56
Compensation
Committee
The
Company has formed a Compensation Committee comprised of Drew Green, Paul Baron and Tasis Giannoukakis. Our Board has affirmatively determined
that each satisfy the “independence” requirements defined under the applicable listing standards of the NYSE American, including
the standards specific to members of a compensation committee and meet the independence standards under Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange
Act. Our Compensation Committee assists the Board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure, including all forms of compensation,
relating to our directors and executive officers. No officer may be present at any committee meeting during which such officer’s
compensation is deliberated upon. The Compensation Committee is responsible for, among other things:
●
reviewing
and approving to the Board with respect to the total compensation package for our most senior executive officers;
●
approving
and overseeing the total compensation package for our executives other than the most senior executive officers;
●
reviewing
and recommending to the Board with respect to the compensation of our directors;
●
reviewing
periodically and approving any long-term incentive compensation or equity plans;
●
selecting
compensation consultants, legal counsel or other advisors after taking into consideration all factors relevant to that person’s
independence from management; and
●
programs
or similar arrangements, annual bonuses, employee pension and welfare benefit plans
Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee
The
Company has formed a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee comprised of three directors, Drew Green, Paul Baron and Tasis Giannoukakis,
that satisfy the “independence” requirements for independence under the NYSE American listing standards and SEC rules and
regulations. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated
to serve on our Board. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers persons identified by its members, management, shareholders,
investment bankers and others.
Code
of Business Code and Ethics Conduct
Our
Board has adopted a written Code of Ethics and Business Conduct which emphasizes the importance of matters relating to honest and ethical
conduct, conflicts of interest, confidentiality of corporate information, protection and proper use of corporate assets and opportunities,
compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations and the reporting of any illegal or unethical behavior. A copy of the code posted
on our website, gopineapple.com . In addition, we intend to post on our website all disclosures that are required by law or rules
concerning any amendments to, or waivers from, any provision of the code.
Changes
in Nominating Procedures
None.
Section
16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Based
solely upon a review of copies of such forms filed on Forms 3, 4 and 5, and amendments thereto furnished to us, we believe that as of
the date of this Report, our executive officers, directors and greater than 10 percent beneficial owners have complied on a timely basis
with all Section 16(a) filing requirements.
Clawback
Policy
Board adopted the Clawback Policy (the “Clawback Policy”), providing for the recovery of certain
incentive-based compensation from current and former executive officers of the Company in the event the Company is required to restate
any of its financial statements filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act in order to correct an error that is material to the previously-issued
financial statements, or that would result in a material misstatement if the error were corrected in the current period or left uncorrected
in the current period. A copy of the Clawback Policy has been filed herewith, as exhibit 99.1.
Insider
Trading Policies
We
have adopted an insider trading policy governing the purchase, sale, and other dispositions of our securities by directors, senior management,
and employees. A copy of the Insider Trading Policy has been filed herewith, as exhibit 99.2.
57
ITEM
11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Summary
Compensation Table
The
following table sets out the compensation paid or payable to the Named Executive Officers (“NEO”) of the Company during the
last two fiscal years:
Name and Principal Position
Year
Salary
($)
Bonus
($)
Stock
Awards
($)
Option
Awards
($)
Non-Equity
Incentive
Plan
Compensation
($)
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
($)
All Other
Compensation
($)
Total
($)
Shubha Dasgupta,
2024
177,816
-
-
-
-
-
10,669
188,485
Chief Executive Officer
2023
188,256
-
-
-
-
-
11,357
199,613
Rupen Shah (1),
2024
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Chief Financial Officer
2023
77,389
-
-
-
-
-
1,508
78,897
Christa Mitchell,
2024
177,816
-
-
-
-
-
10,669
188,485
Chief Strategy Officer
2023
188,256
-
-
-
-
-
11,357
199,613
Kendall Marin,
2024
177,816
-
-
-
-
-
10,669
188,485
President and Chief Operating Officer
2023
188,256
-
-
-
-
-
11,357
199,613
Sarfraz Habib Chief Financial Officer
2024
133,362
-
-
-
-
-
-
$
133,362
2023
50,125
-
-
-
-
-
-
$
50,125
(1)
Mr.
Shah resigned as CFO of the Company in January 2023.
Outstanding
Equity Awards at 2023 Fiscal Year-End
The
following table sets forth information concerning outstanding equity awards for each of the NEOs and directors as of the end of the fiscal
year ended August 31, 2024.
Option
Awards
Stock
Awards
Name and
Principal Position
Number
of
Securities.
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Exercisable
Weighted
Average
Option
Exercise
Price
($)
Option
Expiration
Date
Number
of
Shares
or
Units of Stock
That
Have Not
Vested
(#)
Market
Value
of
Shares
or
Units
of
Stock
That Have
Not
Vested
Shubha Dasgupta,
126,652
$ 3.60
June 14, 2026
N/A
N/A
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Tasis Giannoukakis,
10,214
$ 3.60
June 14, 2026
N/A
N/A
Director
Drew Green,
102,138
$ 3.60
June 14, 2026
N/A
N/A
Chairman of the Board
Kendall Marin,
126,652
$ 3.60
June 14, 2026
N/A
N/A
President, Chief Operating Officer, and Director
Christa Mitchell,
32,684
$ 3.60
June 14, 2026
N/A
N/A
Chief Strategy Officer and Director
Paul Baron,
10,214
$ 3.60
June 14, 2026
N/A
N/A
Director
Nima Besharat,
157,136
$ 3.60
June 14, 2026
N/A
N/A
Director
58
Compensation
Governance
The
Company has not been a reporting issuer during any financial period to date. The significant elements of future compensation to be awarded
or paid to the Company’s directors and/or executive officers, including NEOs, once the Company becomes a reporting issuer is expected
to consist primarily of management fees, stock options and cash bonuses. The amount to be paid for each element of compensation will
not be based on any formula or specific objective criteria but is expected to be the result of a subjective determination of the Board
in consideration of a number of factors, including, but not limited to: the overall financial and operating performance of the Company,
each NEO’s individual performance and contribution towards meeting corporate objectives, each NEO’s level of responsibility,
each NEO’s length of service, industry comparable and the Company’s ability to pay compensation. Payments may be made from
time to time to executive officers, including Named Executive Officers, or companies they control for the provision of consulting or
management services. Such services are paid for by the Company at competitive industry rates for work of a similar nature by reputable
arm’s length services providers. Following the date of Listing, the Company expects to pay fees for management services pursuant
to the terms of the agreement summarized under “ Employment, Consulting and Management Agreements ” below. Other than
the Stock Option Plan, the Company has not established any other long-term incentive plan. Other than 565,689 Options under the Stock
Option Plan, the Company has no stock options or other incentive securities outstanding ; however, the Company may issue more stock
options pursuant to its Stock Option Plan. See “ Stock Option Plan ” below and “ Options to Purchase Securities ”.
In addition, it is anticipated that the Board may award bonuses, in its sole discretion, to executive officers, including NEOs, from
time to time.
In
assessing the compensation of its directors and executive officers, including the NEOs, the Company does not have in place any formal
objectives, criteria or analysis. The general objectives of our compensation strategy are to: (a) compensate management in a manner that
encourages and rewards a high level of performance and outstanding results with a view to increasing long term shareholder value; (b)
align management’s interests with the long term interests of shareholders; (c) provide a compensation package that is commensurate
with other companies to enable us to attract and retain talent; and (d) ensure that the total compensation package is designed in a manner
that takes into account the Company’s financial condition and long term interests.
Compensation
payable to executive officers and directors is currently reviewed and recommended by the Board, on an annual basis. See “ Statement
of Corporate Governance - Compensation ”. The Company has not established any specific performance criteria or goals to which
total compensation or any significant element of total compensation to be paid to any NEO is dependent. Specifically, in the most recently
completed financial year, no compensation was directly tied to a specific performance goal such as a milestone or the completion of a
transaction, no significant events occurred that significantly affected compensation, and no peer group was formally used to determine
compensation. NEOs’ performance is reviewed in light of the Company’s objectives from time to time and such officers’
compensation is also compared to that of executive officers of companies of similar size and stage of development in the Company’s
industry. Though the Company does not have pre-existing performance criteria, objectives or goals, it is anticipated that, once the Company
becomes a reporting issuer, the Board will review all compensation arrangements and policies in place and consider the adoption of formal
compensation guidelines.
Director
Compensation
To
date, we have not compensated our directors for their service to the Company, except that Drew Green receives monthly compensation of
$7,887 and Nima Besharat received monthly compensation of $3,943 until his compensation terminated in February 2022.
External
Management Companies
Other
than as disclosed below under “ Employment, Consulting and Management Agreements ”, the Company has not entered into
any agreement with any external management company that employs or retains one or more of the NEOs or directors and, other than as disclosed
below, the Company has not entered into any understanding, arrangement or agreement with any external management company to provide executive
management services to the Company, directly or indirectly, in respect of which any compensation was paid by the Company.
Stock
Options and Other Compensation Securities
As
of the date of this prospectus, the Company has granted 628,510 Options under the Stock Option Plan to directors and/or NEOs of the Company,
62,820 of which were subsequently forfeited, and no other compensation securities were granted or issued to any director and/or NEO for
services provided or to be provided, directly or indirectly, to the Company or any of its subsidiaries.
During
the year ended August 31, 2024 there was no exercise of Options granted under the Stock Option Plan or other rights to acquire securities
of the Company by NEOs or directors of the Company.
Stock
Option Plan
On
June 14, 2021 the Board approved our 2487269 Ontario Ltd. Stock Option Plan (the “Stock Option Plan”). As of the date, there are 565,689 options outstanding under the Stock Option Plan.
59
The
purpose of the Stock Option Plan is to provide the Company with a share-related mechanism to attract, retain and motivate qualified directors,
officers, employees and consultants, to reward those individuals from time to time for their contributions toward the long-term goals
of the Company and to enable and encourage those individuals to acquire Common Shares as long-term investments. The material features
of the Stock Option Plan are reflected in the disclosure below.
Key
Terms
Summary
Administration
The
Stock Option Plan is administered by the Board, or such director or other senior officer of the Company as may be designated as administrator
by the Board. The Board or such committee may make, amend and repeal at any time, and from time to time, such regulations not inconsistent
with the Stock Option Plan.
Number
of Common Shares
The
maximum number of Common Shares issuable under the Stock Option Plan shall not exceed 10% of the number of Common Shares issued and
outstanding as of each date on which the Board grants the Option (the “ Award Date ”) with certain limits on grants
to Optionees (as defined in the Stock Option Plan), Optionees who are Insiders (as defined in the Stock Option Plan), Eligible Employees
(as defined in the Stock Option Plan) and Optionees conducting Investor Relations Activities (as defined in the Stock Option Plan).
The number of Common Shares underlying Options that have been cancelled, that have expired without being exercised in full, and that
have been issued upon exercise of Options shall not reduce the number of Common Shares issuable under the Stock Option Plan and shall
again be available for issuance thereunder.
Securities
Each
Option entitles the holder thereof (an “ Option Holder ”) to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price determined
by the Board.
Participation
Any
director, senior officer, management company, employee or consultant of the Company (including any subsidiary of the Company), as
the Board may determine.
Exercise
Price
The
exercise price of an option will be determined by the Board in its sole discretion, provided that the exercise price will not be
less than the Discounted Market Price (as defined in the Stock Option Plan).
Exercise
Period
The
exercise period of an Option will be the period from and including the award date through to and including the expiry date that will
be determined by the Board at the time of grant (the “ Expiry Date ”), provided that the Expiry Date of an Option
will be no later than the fifth anniversary of the Award Date of the Option, provided that such date does not fall within a blackout
period imposed by the Company, and any Options granted to any Optionee who is a Director, Eligible Employee, or other Optionee will
expire within 12 months following the date that such Optionee ceases to be engaged in such role.
Cessation
of Employment
Subject
to certain limitations, in the event that an Option Holder ceases to be a director of the Company or ceases to be employed by the
Company, other than by reason of death, the Expiry Date of the Option will be 90 days after the date of such termination, except
as otherwise provided in any employment contract. Notwithstanding the foregoing or any employment contract, in no event shall such
right be extended beyond the Option Period or one year from the date of termination.
In
the event that an Option Holder should die while he or she is still director, senior officer, management company, employee or consultant
of the Company, the Expiry Date will be 12 months from the date of death of the Option Holder.
Acceleration
Events
If
a third party makes a bona fide formal offer to the Company or its shareholders which would constitute an acceleration event, the
Board may (i) permit the Option Holders to exercise their Options, as to all or any of such Options that have not previously been
exercised (regardless of any vesting restrictions), but in no event later than the Expiry Date of the Option, so that the Option
Holders may participate in such transaction; and (ii) require the acceleration of the time for the exercise of the Options and of
the time for the fulfilment of any conditions or restrictions on such exercise.
Notwithstanding
any other provision of the Stock Option Plan or the terms of any Option, if at any time when Options remains unexercised and the
Company completes any transaction which constitutes an acceleration event, all outstanding unvested Options will automatically vest.
Any
proposed acceleration of vesting provisions is subject to the policies and necessary approvals of the TSXV, if applicable.
Limitations
The
maximum number of Common Shares which may be issued, within any one-year period, to Insiders under the Stock Option Plan, together
with any other share-based compensation arrangements of the Company, will be 10% of the total number of Common Shares issued and
outstanding. The total number of Options awarded to any one individual in any twelve-month period will not exceed 5% of the issued
and outstanding Common Shares of the Company at the Award Date unless the Company has obtained disinterested shareholder approval..
The
total number of Options awarded to any one consultant of the Company in any twelve-month period will not exceed 2% of the issued
and outstanding Common Shares of the Company at the Award Date unless consent is obtained as set forth in the Stock Option Plan.
The
total number of Options awarded to all persons retained by the Company to provide Investor Relations Activities will not exceed 2%
of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Company, in any twelve-month period, calculated at the Award Date unless consent
is obtained as set forth in the Stock Option Plan. Options granted to persons retained to provide Investor Relations Activities will
vest in stages over not less than twelve months with no more than one quarter of the options vesting in any three-month period.
Amendments
The
Board may from time to time, subject to applicable law and to the prior approval, if required, of the shareholders, relevant stock
exchanges or any other regulatory body having authority over the Company or the Stock Option Plan, suspend, terminate or discontinue
the Stock Option Plan at any time, or amend or revise the terms of the Stock Option Plan or of any Option granted under the Stock
Option Plan and the Option Agreement relating thereto, provided that no such amendment, revision, suspension, termination or discontinuance
shall in any manner adversely affect any Option previously granted to an Optionee under the Stock Option Plan without the consent
of that Optionee.
60
Employment,
Consulting and Management Agreements
As
of the date hereof, other than as described below, the Company does not have any contract, agreement, plan or arrangement that provides
for payments to the named executive officers (the “NEOs”) at, following, or in connection with any termination (whether voluntary,
involuntary or constructive), resignation, retirement, a change in control of the Company or a change in a director or NEO’s responsibilities.
On
April 10, 2023, the Company entered into an executive employment agreement with Sarfraz Habib (the “Sarfraz Employment Agreement”)
pursuant to which Mr. Habib agreed to serve as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. In consideration of the services provided
by Mr. Habib, the Company agreed to pay a base salary of $133,362 per annum.
On
March 1, 2022, we entered into a Consulting Services Agreement with Kia Besharat, pursuant to which we pay a fee of $3,943 per month
for broad financial and securities advisory services.
We
have also entered into an agreement with Drew Green for board fees, pursuant to which we pay a fee of $7,887 per month.
Pension
Plan Benefits
The
Company does not anticipate having any deferred compensation plan or pension plan that provides for payments or benefits at, following
or in connection with retirement.
ITEM
12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The
following table sets forth certain information regarding beneficial ownership of shares of our common shares as of December 19, 2024
by (i) each person known to beneficially own more than 5% of our outstanding common stock, (ii) each of our directors, (iii) each of
our named executive officers and (iv) all of our directors and named executive officers as a group. Except as otherwise indicated, the
persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares beneficially owned, subject to community
property laws, where applicable .
Beneficial Owner
Shares (1)
Percentage
Directors and Named Executive Officers
Shubha Dasgupta(2)
998,457
11.34 %
Sarfraz Habib
-
Kendall Marin(3)
998,457
11.34 %
Drew Green (4)
820,097
9.31 %
Paul Baron (5)
74,317
0.84 %
Tasis Giannoukakis (6)
99,558
1.13 %
Nima Besharat (7)
208,439
2.37 %
All Directors and Officers as a group (7 persons)
3,199,725
36.33 %
5% Stockholders
Prodigy Capital Corp. (8)
756,311
8.59 %
*
Represents
beneficial ownership of less than 1%.
(1)
Based
on 8,808,019 common shares outstanding.
(2)
Includes
126,652 options at an exercise price of $3.60 and 25,641 warrants to purchase common shares at an exercise price of CAD$2.93. The
securities beneficially owned by Shubha Dasgupta are directly held by 5032771 Ontario Inc., an entity controlled by Mr. Dasgupta
61
(3)
Includes
126,652 options at an exercise price of $3.60 and 25,651 warrants to purchase common shares at an exercise price of CAD$2.93.
(4)
Includes
102,138 options at an exercise price of $3.60 and 25,651 warrants to purchase common shares at an exercise price of CAD$2.93.The
securities beneficially owned by Drew Green are directly held by DREWGREEN.CA INC., an entity controlled by Mr. Green.
(5)
Includes 10,214 options at an exercise price of $3.60.
(6)
Includes
10,214 options at an exercise price of $3.60.
(7)
Includes
157,136 options at an exercise price of $3.60 and 25,651 warrants to purchase common shares at an exercise price of CAD$2.93. The
shares beneficially owned by Nima Besharat are directly held by Break Point Ventures Ltd., an entity controlled by Mr. Besharat.
(8)
Includes
38,262 warrants to purchase common shares at an exercise price of CAD$2.93. Kia Besharat, principal of Prodigy Capital Corp., has
the power to vote or dispose of the shares held of record by Prodigy Capital Corp., and may be deemed to beneficially own those shares.
Securities
Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
The
following table summarizes information about our equity compensation plans as of August 31, 2024.
Plan Category
Number of
securities to
be issued upon
exercise
of outstanding
options,
warrants and
rights (a)
Weighted average
exercise price of
outstanding
options,
warrants and
rights
Number of securities
remaining
available for future
issuance under
equity compensation
plans
(excluding securities
reflected in
column (a))
Equity compensation plans approved by security holder
3,245,177
$ 3.78
-
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holder
-
Total
3,245,177
$ 3.78
ITEM
13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Transactions
with Related Persons
Except
as described below and except for employment arrangements which are described under “Executive Compensation,” during the
fiscal years ended August 31, 2024 and August 31, 2023, there have not been, nor are there currently proposed, any transaction in which
we are or were a participant, the amount involved exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of the total assets at August 31,
2024, and any of our directors, executive officers, holders of more than 5% of our common shares, or any immediate family member of any
of the foregoing had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.
Related
Person Transaction Policy
We
expect to adopt a related person transaction policy that sets forth our procedures for the identification, review, consideration and
approval or ratification of related person transactions. The policy will become effective immediately upon the execution of the underwriting
agreement for this offering. For purposes of our policy only, a related person transaction is a transaction, arrangement or relationship,
or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships, in which we and any related person are, were or will be participants
in which the amount involved exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of our total assets at year-end for our last two completed fiscal years.
Transactions involving compensation for services provided to us as an employee or director are not covered by this policy. A related
person is any executive officer, director or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, including any of
their immediate family members and any entity owned or controlled by such persons.
62
Under
the policy, if a transaction has been identified as a related person transaction, including any transaction that was not a related person
transaction when originally consummated or any transaction that was not initially identified as a related person transaction prior to
consummation, our management must present information regarding the related person transaction to our audit committee, or, if audit committee
approval would be inappropriate, to another independent body of our Board, for review, consideration and approval or ratification. The
presentation must include a description of, among other things, the material facts, the interests, direct and indirect, of the related
persons, the benefits to us of the transaction and whether the transaction is on terms that are comparable to the terms available to
or from, as the case may be, an unrelated third party or to or from employees generally. Under the policy, we will collect information
that we deem reasonably necessary from each director, executive officer and, to the extent feasible, significant shareholder to enable
us to identify any existing or potential related-person transactions and to effectuate the terms of the policy. In addition, under our
code of business conduct and ethics, our employees and directors will have an affirmative responsibility to disclose any transaction
or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give rise to a conflict of interest. In considering related person transactions,
our audit committee, or other independent body of our Board, will take into account the relevant available facts and circumstances including,
but not limited to:
●
the risks, costs and benefits to us;
●
the impact on a director’s independence in the event that the related person is a director, immediate family member of a director
or an entity with which a director is affiliated;
●
the availability of other sources for comparable services or products; and
●
the terms available to or from, as the case may be, unrelated third parties or to or from employees generally.
The
policy requires that, in determining whether to approve, ratify or reject a related person transaction, our audit committee, or other
independent body of our Board, must consider, in light of known circumstances, whether the transaction is in, or is not inconsistent
with, our best interests and those of our shareholders, as our audit committee, or other independent body of our Board, determines in
the good faith exercise of its discretion.
Director
Independence
The
NYSE American requires that a majority of our board of directors must be composed of “independent directors,” which is defined
generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship,
which, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment
in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. The Board has determined that Paul Baron, Tasis Giannoukakis, Drew Green and Nima
Besharat are considered to be independent. Our Board currently consists of seven directors, four of whom are independent. we
ITEM
14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
The
following table sets forth the aggregate fees billed by MNP LLP as described below:
2024
2023
Audit Fees
$ 193,674
$ 148,057
Audit Related Fees
$ 22,396
$ 39,040
Tax Fees
$ -
$ 5,893
All Other Fees
$ -
$ -
Total
$ 216,070
$ 192,990
63
Pre-Approval
Policies and Procedures
The
Audit Committee mandate requires that the Audit Committee pre-approve any retainer of the auditor of the Company to perform any non-audit
services to the Company that it deems advisable in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements and policies and procedures
of the Board. The Audit Committee is permitted to delegate pre-approval authority to one of its members; however, the decision of any
member of the Audit Committee to whom such authority has been delegated must be presented to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled
meeting
PART
IV
ITEM
15. EXHIBIT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a)
Financial
Statements
For
a list of the consolidated financial statements included herein, see Index to Consolidated Financial Statements on page F-1 of this Annual
Report, which is incorporated into this Item by reference.
(b)
Exhibits
Exhibit
No.
Description
3.1
Articles of Continuance incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Amendment to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-268636) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 28, 2023.
3.2
Bylaws incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Amendment to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-268636) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 28, 2023.
4.1
Form of Warrant *
10.1
Stock Option Plan incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Amendment to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-268636) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 28, 2023.
10.2
Salesforce Agreement, between the Company and Salesforce.com, dated December 1, 2020, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Amendment to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-268636) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 28, 2023.
10.3
Employment Agreement, dated April 4, 2023 between the Company and Sarfraz Habib incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Amendment to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-268636) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 28, 2023.
10.4
Form of Mortgage Broker Affiliation Agreement incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Amendment to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-268636) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 28, 2023.
10.5
Equity Purchase Agreement dated May 10, 2024 *
10.6
Registration Rights Agreement dated May 10, 2024 *
10.7
Securities Purchase Agreement dated May 10, 2024*
10.8
Convertible Promissory Note*
14.1
Code of Ethics+
19.1
Insider Trading Policy
21.1
List of Subsidiaries of the Registrant, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 21.1 to the Company’s Amendment to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-268636) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 28, 2023.
31.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended.
31.2
Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended.
32.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rules 13a-14(b) or 15d-14(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended, and 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.
97.1
Clawback Policy
99.1
Audit Committee Charter+
99.2
Compensation Committee Charter+
99.3
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Charter+
101.INS
Inline XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension
Schema Document
101.CAL
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension
Calculation Document
101.DEF
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension
Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension
Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension
Presentation Linkbase Document
104
Cover Page Interactive
Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)
*
Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on May 16, 2024 (File No. 001-41738)
+
Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on December 1, 2022, as amended
(File No. 333-268636)
ITEM
16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY
None.
64
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Consolidated Financial
Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
F- 1
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To
the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Pineapple Financial Inc.
Opinion
on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We
have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Pineapple Financial Inc. (the “Company”) as at August 31, 2024
and 2023, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for
each of the years in the two-year period ended August 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated
financial statements”).
In
our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the
Company as at August 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its consolidated operations and its consolidated cash flows for each of the
years in the two-year period ended August 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
of America.
Material
Uncertainty Related to Going Concern
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed
in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations and has negative cash flows
from operating activities which raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in
regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might
result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis
for Opinion
These
consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion
on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company
in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission
and the PCAOB.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.
The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part
of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing
an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our
audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether
due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence
regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles
used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements.
We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Chartered
Professional Accountants
Licensed
Public Accountants
We
have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
Mississauga,
Canada
December
19, 2024
MNP
LLP
Suite 900, 50
Burnhamthorpe Road W, Mississauga ON, L5B 3C2
T: 416.626.6000
F: 416.626.8650
MNP.ca
F- 2
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Consolidated
Balance Sheets
As at August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
As at:
August 31,
2024
August 31,
2023
Assets
Current assets
Cash
$ 580,356
$ 720,365
Trade and other receivables
Note 13
155,224
758,988
Prepaid expenses and deposits
157,911
218,150
Total current assets
893,491
1,697,503
Investment
Note 4
10,042
10,013
Right-of-use asset
Note 10
828,674
960,377
Property and equipment
Note 5
152,610
242,091
Intangible assets
Note
6
2,211,775
1,718,954
Total
Assets
$ 4,096,592
$ 4,628,938
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
$ 1,125,477
$ 605,319
Deferred revenue
Note 2
111,921
-
Loan
Note 17
-
430,098
Current portion of lease liability
Note
10
161,508
138,372
Total current liabilities
1,398,906
1,173,789
Deferred government incentive
Note 13
491,251
699,627
Lease liability
Note 10
815,599
969,589
Warrant liability
Note
8
41,520
-
Total
liabilities
$ 2,747,276
$ 2,843,005
Shareholders’ Equity
Common shares, no par value; unlimited authorized; 8,425,353 issued and outstanding shares as of August 31, 2024 and 6,306,979 as at August 31, 2023.
Note 7
8,559,856
4,903,031
Additional paid-in capital
Note 8,9
2,955,944
2,955,944
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
( 408,510 )
( 417,727 )
Accumulated deficit
( 9,757,974 )
( 5,655,315 )
Total
stockholders’ equity
1,349,316
1,785,933
TOTAL
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
$ 4,096,592
$ 4,628,938
Description
of business (note 1)
Contingencies
and commitments (note 15)
Subsequent
events (note 20)
Approved
on behalf of Board of Directors
“Shuba
Dasgupta”
“Drew
Green”
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
F- 3
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Consolidated
Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
For the year ended
August 31,
2024
August 31,
2023
Revenue
Note 16
$ 2,688,987
$ 2,502,264
Expenses
Selling, general and administrative
Note 11
2,382,225
2,170,149
Advertising and Marketing
860,047
844,796
Salaries, wages and benefits
2,436,783
2,330,127
Interest expense and bank charges
93,472
56,316
Depreciation and amortization
Note 5,6,10
838,843
441,159
Share-based compensation
Note 9
-
33,091
Government Incentive
Note 13
( 97,646 )
( 591,480 )
Total expenses
$ 6,513,724
$ 5,284,158
Loss from operations
( 3,824,737 )
( 2,781,894 )
Write down of investment
Note 4
-
( 27,143 )
(Loss) on extinguishment of liability
Note 18
( 156,339
)
-
Foreign exchange gain (loss)
( 38,836 )
-
Gain on change in fair value of warrant liability
Note 8
63,769
-
Gain on change in fair value of conversion feature liability
Note 18
76,543
-
Accretion expense
Note 18
( 223,059
)
-
Loss before income taxes
$ ( 4,102,659 )
$ ( 2,809,037 )
Net loss
( 4,102,659 )
( 2,809,037 )
Foreign currency translation adjustment
9,217
( 64,509 )
Net loss and comprehensive loss
$ ( 4,093,442 )
$ ( 2,873,546 )
Loss per share - basic and diluted
$ ( 0.57 )
$ ( 0.45 )
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - basic and diluted
7,145,939
6,306,979
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
F- 4
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Consolidated
Statements of Shareholders’ Equity
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
Additional
Accumulated
Common
Paid in
other
Accumulated
Total
Shares
Capital
comprehensive
(deficit)
shareholders’
(note 7)
(note 8 and 9)
loss
earnings
equity
$
$
$
$
$
Balance, August 31, 2022
4,903,031
2,922,853
( 353,218 )
( 2,846,278 )
4,626,388
Share-based compensation
-
33,091
-
-
33,091
Foreign exchange translation
-
-
( 64,509 )
-
( 64,509 )
Net loss
-
-
-
( 2,809,037 )
( 2,809,037 )
Balance, August 31, 2023
4,903,031
2,955,944
( 417,727 )
( 5,655,315 )
1,785,933
Balance
4,903,031
2,955,944
( 417,727 )
( 5,655,315 )
1,785,933
Shares issued on Initial Public offering on November 3, 2023
2,751,937
-
-
-
2,751,937
Shares issued against convertible note
465,680
-
-
-
465,680
Shares issued against equity purchase agreement
487,491
-
-
-
487,491
Warrants issued related to Initial Public Offering
( 48,283 )
-
-
-
( 48,283 )
Foreign exchange translation
-
-
9,217
-
9,217
Net loss
-
-
-
( 4,102,659 )
( 4,102,659 )
Balance, August 31, 2024
8,559,856
2,955,944
( 408,510 )
( 9,757,974 )
1,349,316
Balance
8,559,856
2,955,944
( 408,510 )
( 9,757,974 )
1,349,316
The accompanying notes are an integral part of
these consolidated financial statements
F- 5
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
For the year ended:
August
31, 2024
August
31, 2023
$
$
Cash provided by (used for) the following activities
Operating activities
Net loss for the year
( 4,102,659 )
( 2,809,037 )
Adjustments for the following non-cash items:
Depreciation of property and equipment
Note 5
87,803
67,674
Amortization of intangible assets
Note 6
616,532
265,150
Depreciation on right of use asset
Note 10
134,508
108,335
Interest expense on lease liability
Note 10
62,604
56,316
Share-based compensation
Note 9
-
33,091
Write down of investment
Note 8
-
27,143
Change
in fair value of warrant liability
63,769
-
Accretion Expense
223,059
-
Loss on extinguishment of liability
156,339
-
Gain (loss) on change in fair value of the conversion feature liability
( 76,543
)
-
Foreign
exchange gain (loss)
38,836
-
Net changes in non-cash working capital balances:
Trade and other receivables
603,764
( 26,242 )
Prepaid expenses and deposits
60,239
265,545
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
519,943
( 174,795 )
Deferred government incentive
( 208,376 )
-
Deferred revenue
111,921
-
Income taxes receivable
-
70,715
Net cash
used in operating activities
( 1,708,261 )
( 2,116,105 )
Financing activities
Share capital issuance
Note 7
2,751,937
-
Proceed from conversion note
Note 18
300,000
-
Proceed from Equity purchase agreement
487,491
-
Proceed from SRED loan
87,369
430,098
Repayment of SRED loan
Note 17
( 517,467 )
-
Repayment of lease obligations
Note 10
( 196,703 )
( 81,090 )
Net cash
provided by financing activity
2,912,627
349,008
Investing activities
Additions to intangible assets
Note 6
( 1,112,399 )
( 1,300,225 )
Additions to property and equipment
Note 5
( 4,991 )
( 62,073 )
Net cash
used in investing activity
( 1,117,390 )
( 1,362,298 )
Net change in cash
86,976
( 3,129,395 )
Effect of changes in foreign exchange rates
( 226,985 )
( 47,079 )
Cash, beginning of year
720,365
3,896,839
Cash, end of year
580,356
720,365
Supplementary cash flow information:
Interest paid
35,281
-
Income taxes paid
-
-
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
F- 6
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
1.
Description of business
Pineapple
Financial Inc. (the” Company”) is a leader in the Canadian mortgage industry, breaking the mould by focusing on both the long-term
success of agents and brokerages, as well as the overall experience of homeowners. With over 600 brokers within the network, the Company
utilizes cutting-edge cloud-based tools and AI-driven systems to enable its brokers to help Canadians realize their ultimate dream, owning
a home.
The
Company was incorporated in 2006, under the Ontario Business Corporations Act. The Company’s head office is located at 200-111
Gordon Baker Road, Toronto, Ontario, M2H 3R1 Canada and its securities are publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange American (NYSEAmerican)
under ticker “PAPL”. The Company completed an Initial Public Offering on October 31, 2023 for gross proceeds of $ 3,500,000
and the first day of trading was November 1, 2023.
Impact
from the global inflationary pressures leading to higher interest rates
During
the first quarter of 2024, due to inflationary pressures that were felt around the globe, central banks all over the world increased
interest rates steadily to reduce these pressures. The impact on the real estate market has been to reduce the price wars, bidding, and
control over the runaway prices. This has led to modifications in all businesses associated with real estate including the Company. With
the interest rates increases which reduces prices has led to reduced volume for the Company. It is unknown how long the increased interest
rates will last. The Company determined that there were no material expectations of increased credit losses, and no material indicators
of impairment of long-term assets.
Going Concern
The Company continues to focus its efforts
predominantly on research and development activities. During this process, it has incurred significant operating losses, a trend expected
to persist for the foreseeable future. As of August 31, 2024, the Company reported an accumulated deficit of $ 9,757,974 , compared to $ 5,655,315
as of August 31, 2023. Negative cash flows from operating activities amounted to $ 1,708,261 during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024,
down from $ 2,116,105 in the prior year.
To sustain its operations, the
Company plans to explore additional capital and financing sources while managing existing working capital resources. However, the
Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is subject to its capacity to achieve future profitability and secure the
necessary funding to meet obligations as they arise. The uncertainty surrounding its ability to raise financial capital and generate
profitable operations raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.
These consolidated financial statements
do not include adjustments that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern. For further details, see
Note 20, which discusses a $ 1.00 million offering completed in November 2024 and a $ 0.525 million short term loan in October 2024.
2.
Significant accounting policies
Statement
of compliance
These
consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“US
GAAP”).
The
consolidated financial statements were authorized for issue by the Board of Directors on December 1 9 , 2024.
Basis
of preparation, functional and presentation currency
The
consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with US GAAP applicable to a going concern, which contemplates
the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business on the historical cost basis except
for certain financial instruments that are measured at fair value, as explained in the accounting policies below. Historical cost is
generally based on the fair value of the consideration given in exchange for assets. All financial information is in US Dollars
(“USD”) as the Company’s presentation currency and transactions are conducted in the functional currency of
Canadian dollars (“CAD”).
Adjustment
for Reverse Stock Split
In
July 2023, the Board approved a 1-for-3.9 reverse stock split , or the Reverse Split, which was implemented on July 14, 2023. Consequently,
all the share numbers, shares prices, and exercise prices have been retroactively adjusted in these consolidated financial statements
for all periods presented.
Operating
segments
The
Company determines its reporting units in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards
Codification (“ASC”) 280, Segment Reporting. The Company evaluates a reporting unit by first identifying its operating segments
under ASC 280. The Company operates as one operating segment which is reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided
to the chief operating decision-makers. The chief operating decision-makers are responsible for the allocation of resources and assessing
the performance of the operating segment and have been identified as the CEO and CFO of the Company.
F- 7
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
2.
Significant
accounting policies (continued from previous page)
Basis
of consolidation
The
consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Pineapple Insurance Inc and Pineapple
National Inc. All transactions with the subsidiaries and any intercompany balances, gains or losses have been eliminated upon consolidation.
The subsidiaries have a USD presentation currency, and the functional currency is in CAD, and accounting policies have been applied consistently
to the subsidiaries.
ASC
842 Leases
At
inception of a contract, the Company assesses whether a contract is, or contains, a lease based on whether the contract conveys the right
to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. The Company recognizes a right-of-use asset
and a lease liability at the lease commencement date. The right-of-use asset is initially measured based on the initial amount of the
lease liability adjusted for any lease payments made at or before the commencement date, less any lease incentives received.
The
right-of-use assets are depreciated to the earlier of the end of the useful life of the right-of-use asset or the lease term using the
straight-line method. The lease term includes periods covered by an option to extend if the Company is reasonably certain to exercise
that option. In addition, the right-of-use asset can be periodically reduced by impairment losses, if any, and adjusted for certain remeasurements
of the lease liability. The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at the
commencement date, discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease or, if that rate cannot be readily determined, the Company’s
incremental borrowing rate.
The
Company recognized a lease liability and right-of-use asset for most leases and applied ASC 842. The lease liability was measured at
the present value of the remaining lease payments, discounted using the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate at the date
of initial application, estimated to be 6 %. Right-of-use assets were measured at an amount equal to the lease liability, adjusted
by the amount of any prepaid or accrued lease payments relating to that lease recognized in the consolidated statement of financial position
immediately before the date of initial application.
Financial
instruments
The
following table shows the classification categories under US GAAP ASC 825 for each class of the Company’s financial assets and
financial liabilities.
Asset
/ liability:
Classification:
Cash
FVTPL
Trade
and other receivables
Amortized
cost
Investments
FVTPL
Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
Amortized
cost
Loan
Amortized cost
Warrant liability
FVTPL
Financial
assets
Recognition
and initial measurement
The
Company recognizes financial assets when it becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets are measured
initially at their fair value plus, in the case of financial assets not subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss, transaction
costs that are directly attributable to their acquisition. Transaction costs attributable to the acquisition of financial assets subsequently
measured at fair value through profit or loss are expensed in profit or loss when incurred.
F- 8
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
2.
Significant
accounting policies (continued from previous page)
Classification
and subsequent measurement
On
initial recognition, financial assets are classified and subsequently measured at amortized cost, fair value through other comprehensive
income (“FVOCI”) or fair value through profit or loss (“FVTPL”). The Company determines the classification of
its financial assets, together with any embedded derivatives, based on the business model for managing the financial assets and their
contractual cash flow characteristics.
Financial
assets are classified as follows:
●
Amortized
cost - Assets that are held for collection of contractual cash flows where those cash flows are solely payments of principal and
interest are measured at amortized cost. Interest revenue is calculated using the effective interest method and gains or losses arising
from impairment, foreign exchange and derecognition are recognized in profit or loss. Financial assets measured at amortized cost
are comprised of trade and other receivables.
●
Fair
value through other comprehensive income - Assets that are held for collection of contractual cash flows and for selling the financial
assets, and for which the contractual cash flows are solely payments of principal and interest, are measured at fair value through
other comprehensive income. Interest income calculated using the effective interest method and gains or losses arising from impairment
and foreign exchange are recognized in profit or loss. All other changes in the carrying amount of the financial assets are recognized
in other comprehensive income. Upon derecognition, the cumulative gain or loss previously recognized in other comprehensive income
is reclassified to profit or loss. The Company does not hold any financial assets measured at fair value through other comprehensive
income.
●
Mandatorily
at fair value through profit or loss - Assets that do not meet the criteria to be measured at amortized cost, or fair value through
other comprehensive income, are measured at fair value through profit or loss. All interest income and changes in the financial assets’
carrying amount are recognized in profit or loss. Financial assets mandatorily measured at fair value through profit or loss are
comprised of cash and investments.
●
Designated
at fair value through profit or loss – On initial recognition, the Company may irrevocably designate a financial asset to be
measured at fair value through profit or loss in order to eliminate or significantly reduce an accounting mismatch that would otherwise
arise from measuring assets or liabilities, or recognizing the gains and losses on them, on different bases. All interest income
and changes in the financial assets’ carrying amount are recognized in profit or loss. The Company does not hold any financial
assets designated to be measured at fair value through profit or loss.
Contractual
cash flow assessment
The
cash flows of financial assets are assessed as to whether they are solely payments of principal and interest on the basis of their contractual
terms. For this purpose, ‘principal’ is defined as the fair value of the financial asset on initial recognition. ‘Interest’
is defined as consideration for the time value of money, the credit risk associated with the principal amount outstanding, and other
basic lending risks and costs. In performing this assessment, the Company considers factors that would alter the timing and amount of
cash flows such as prepayment and extension features, terms that might limit the Company’s claim to cash flows, and any features
that modify consideration for the time value of money.
F- 9
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
2.
Significant
accounting policies (continued from previous page)
Financial
instruments (continued from previous page)
Impairment
The
Company recognizes a loss allowance for the expected credit losses associated with its financial assets, other than financial assets
measured at fair value through profit or loss. Expected credit losses are measured to reflect a probability-weighted amount, the time
value of money, and reasonable and supportable information regarding past events, current conditions, and forecasts of future economic
conditions.
The
Company applies the simplified approach for trade receivables. Using the simplified approach, the Company records a loss allowance equal
to the expected credit losses resulting from all possible default events over the assets’ contractual lifetime
The
Company assesses whether a financial asset is credit-impaired at the reporting date. Regular indicators that a financial instrument is
credit-impaired include significant financial difficulties as evidenced through borrowing patterns or observed balances in other accounts
and breaches of borrowing contracts such as default events or breaches of borrowing covenants. For financial assets assessed as credit-
impaired at the reporting date, the Company continues to recognize a loss allowance equal to lifetime expected credit losses.
For
financial assets measured at amortized cost, loss allowances for expected credit losses are presented in the statements of financial
position as a deduction from the gross carrying amount of the financial asset.
Financial
assets are written off when the Company has no reasonable expectations of recovering all or any portion thereof.
Derecognition
of financial assets
The
Company derecognizes a financial asset when its contractual rights to the cash flows from the financial asset expire.
Financial
liabilities
Recognition
and initial measurement
The
Company recognizes a financial liability when it becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. At initial recognition,
the Company measures financial liabilities at their fair value plus transaction costs that are directly attributable to their issuance,
except for financial liabilities subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss for which transaction costs are immediately
recorded in profit or loss.
Where
an instrument contains both a liability and equity component, these components are recognized separately based on the substance of the
instrument, with the liability component measured initially at fair value and the equity component assigned the residual amount.
Classification
and subsequent measurement
Subsequent
to initial recognition, all financial liabilities are measured at amortized cost using the effective interest rate method. Interest,
gains and losses relating to a financial liability are recognized in profit or loss.
Derecognition
of financial liabilities
The
Company derecognizes a financial liability only when its contractual obligations are discharged, cancelled or expire.
F- 10
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
2.
Significant
accounting policies (continued from previous page)
Financial
instruments (continued from previous page)
Impairment
of non-financial assets
Property
and equipment, and intangible assets (other than goodwill) are tested for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate
the carrying value may not be recoverable. When an indication of impairment is identified, the carrying value of the asset or group of
assets is measured against the recoverable amount. The Company evaluates impairments losses, other than goodwill impairment, for potential
reversals when events or circumstances warrant such consideration.
Fair
value
Assets
and liabilities carried at fair value must be classified using a three-level hierarchy that reflects the significance and transparency
of the inputs used in making the fair value measurements.
Level
1
inputs
are unadjusted quoted prices of identical instruments in active markets;
Level
2
inputs
other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly; and
Level
3
inputs
that are not based on observable market data (unobservable data).
Determination
of fair value and the resulting hierarchy requires the use of observable market data whenever available. The classification of a
financial instrument in the hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the measurement of fair value.
Cash is recorded at fair value using level 1 inputs and investments are recorded at fair value using level 3 inputs and warrant liability is measured using level 2 inputs. During the
year, there were no transfers between the levels of fair value.
Income
taxes
The
liability method is used in accounting for income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded for temporary differences between
the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements using the statutory tax rates
in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change
in tax laws or rates is recorded in the results of operations in the period that includes the enactment date under the law.
We
establish valuation allowances for deferred tax assets based on a more likely than not standard. Deferred income tax assets are evaluated
quarterly to determine if valuation allowances are required or should be adjusted. The ability to realize deferred tax assets depends
on the ability to generate sufficient taxable income within the carryback or carryforward periods provided for in the tax law for each
applicable tax jurisdiction. The assessment regarding whether a valuation allowance is required or should be adjusted also considers
all available positive and negative evidence factors. It is difficult to conclude a valuation allowance is not required when there is
significant objective and verifiable negative evidence, such as cumulative losses in recent years. We utilize a rolling three years of
actual and current year results as the primary measure of cumulative losses in recent years.
Income
tax expense (benefit) for the year is allocated between continuing operations and other categories of income such as Other comprehensive
income (loss). In periods in which there is a pre-tax loss from continuing operations and pre-tax income in another income category,
the tax benefit allocated to continuing operations is determined by taking into account the pre-tax income of other categories. We record
Global Intangible Low Tax Income (GILTI) as a current period expense when incurred.
We
record uncertain tax positions on the basis of a two-step process whereby we determine whether it is more likely than not that the tax
positions will be sustained based on the technical merits of the position, and for those tax positions that meet the more likely than
not criteria, we recognize the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50 % likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement
with the related tax authority. We record interest and penalties on uncertain tax positions in Income tax expense (benefit).
F- 11
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
2.
Significant
accounting policies (continued from previous page)
Share
Capital
Common
shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs directly attributable to the issuance of shares are recognized as a deduction from
shareholders’ equity.
Earnings
per share
The
Company calculates basic earnings per share amounts for earnings attributable to common shareholders. Basic earnings per share is calculated
by dividing earnings attributable to common shareholders (the numerator) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding
(the denominator) during the year.
For
the purpose of calculating diluted earnings per share, the Company adjusts the earnings attributable to common shareholders, and the
weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year, for the effects of all dilutive potential common shares. Potential
common shares are treated as dilutive when, and only when, their conversion to common shares would decrease earnings per share or increase
earnings per share from continuing operations.
Share-based
payment arrangements
Equity-settled
share-based payments to employees and others providing similar services are measured at the fair value of the equity instruments at the
grant date. Details regarding the determination of the fair value of equity-settled share-based transactions are set out in Note 9.
The
fair value determined at the grant date of the equity-settled share-based payments is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting
period, based on the Company’s estimate of equity instruments that will eventually vest, with a corresponding increase in equity.
At the end of each reporting period, the Company revises its estimate of the number of equity instruments expected to vest. The impact
of the revision of the original estimates, if any, is recognized in profit or loss such that the cumulative expense reflects the revised
estimate, with a corresponding adjustment to the additional paid-in capital.
Equity-settled
share-based payment transactions with parties other than employees are measured at the fair value of the goods or services received,
except where that fair value cannot be estimated reliably, in which case they are measured at the fair value of the equity instruments
granted, measured at the date the entity obtains the goods or the counterparty renders the service.
Property
and equipment
Property
and equipment are recorded at cost, net of accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses, if any. Cost includes all expenditures
incurred to bring the assets to the location and condition necessary for them to be operated in the manner intended by management.
Depreciation
is calculated using the following terms and methods:
Schedule of estimated useful life of property and equipment
Equipment
5
years
Straight
Line
Furniture
5
years
Straight
Line
IT
Equipment
3
years
Straight
Line
Leasehold
Improvement
5
years
Straight
Line
Laptops
3
years
Straight
Line
An
item of equipment is derecognized upon disposal or when no future economic benefits are expected from its use. Any gain or loss arising
on derecognition of the asset (calculated as the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying value of the asset) is
included in profit or loss in the year the asset is derecognized.
F- 12
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
2.
Significant
accounting policies (continued from previous page)
Intangible
Assets
Intangible
assets acquired separately are measured on initial recognition at cost. The cost of intangible assets acquired in a business combination
is their fair value at the date of acquisition. Following initial recognition, intangible assets are carried at cost less any accumulated
amortization and accumulated impairment losses.
Development
costs for internally-generated intangible assets are capitalized when all of the following conditions are met:
●
The
costs attributable to the asset can be measured reliably.
●
It
is probable that the intangible asset will generate future economic benefits.
●
The
Company can demonstrate the control and ability to use the intangible asset.
The
amount initially recognized for internally-generated intangible assets is the sum of the expenditures incurred from the date when the
intangible asset first meets the recognition criteria listed above. Where no internally-generated intangible asset can be recognized,
development expenditures are charged to the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss in the period in which the expense
is incurred.
Intangible
assets with finite lives are amortized over the estimated useful economic life and assessed for impairment whenever there is an indication
that the intangible asset may be impaired. The amortization period and the amortization method for an intangible asset with a finite
useful life are reviewed at least at the end of each reporting period. Changes in the expected useful life or the expected pattern of
consumption of future economic benefits embodied in the asset are considered to modify the amortization period or method, as appropriate,
and are treated as changes in accounting estimates. The amortization expense on intangible assets with finite lives is recognized in
the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss and in the expense category that is consistent with the function of
the intangible assets.
Intangible
assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized , but are tested for impairment annually, either individually or at the cash-generating
unit level. The assessment of indefinite life is reviewed annually to determine whether the indefinite life continues to be supportable.
If not, the change in useful life from indefinite to finite is made on a prospective basis.
An
intangible asset is derecognized upon disposal (i.e., at the date the recipient obtains control) or when no future economic benefits
are expected from its use or disposal. Any gain or loss arising upon derecognition of the asset (calculated as the difference between
the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset) is included in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive
loss.
Intangible
assets are recorded at cost, net of accumulated amortization and accumulated impairment losses, if any. Cost includes all expenditures
incurred to bring the assets to the location and condition necessary for them to be operated in the manner intended by management.
Amortization
is calculated using the following terms and methods:
Schedule of estimated useful life of intangible assets
Software
7 years
Straight
Line
An
intangible asset is derecognized upon disposal or termination. Any gain or loss arising on derecognition of the asset (calculated as
the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying value of the asset) is included in profit or loss in the year the asset
is derecognized.
Revenue
recognition
The
Company generates its revenue by charging commissions on mortgages that are applied for through the automation and digitalization process
that the Company has in place.
F- 13
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
2.
Significant
accounting policies (continued from previous page)
Revenue
recognition (continued)
The
Company has adopted ASC 606 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers). The standard provides a single comprehensive model for revenue recognition.
The core principle of the standard is that an entity shall recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to
customers at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.
The standard introduced a new contract-based revenue recognition model with a measurement approach that is based on an allocation of
the transaction price. It establishes a five-step model to account for revenue arising from contracts with customers. Under ASC 606,
revenue is recognized at an amount that reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring
good or services to a customer. The standard requires entities to exercise judgement, taking into consideration all of the relevant facts
and circumstances when applying each step of the model to contracts with customers. The standard also specifies the accounting for incremental
costs of obtaining a contract and the costs directly related to fulfilling a contract.
Revenue
is recognized at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company is expected to be entitled in exchange for transferring
goods or services to a customer.
Rendering
of services – The Company hosts an online website, using Salesforce, that brokers and agents can utilize to close out deals.
The
Company’s subsidiary, Pineapple Insurance Inc., generates its revenue by charging commission on for insurance policies and services.
Pineapple Insurance is associated with a major insurance company from which it earns commissions for the provision of these services,
primarily mortgage insurance. Mortgage insurance is a requirement of each mortgage. Pineapple Insurance has also adopted ASC 606. Typically,
Pineapple Insurance is the agent supplying insurance services to the consumer and paid a commission from the premiums collected by the
insurance company whose products and services it provides to the end consumer.
The
Company has four revenue streams:
a)
Sales
Revenue is commission collected from financial institutions with whom it has contracts in place. The Company earns revenue based
on a percentage of mortgage amount funded between individual referred by the Company and financial institutions funding the mortgage.
We are an agent in these deals as we provide the platform for other parties to provide services to the end-user. For each contract
with a customer, the Company identifies the contract with a customer; identifies the performance obligations in the contract; determines
the transaction price to the separate performance obligations on the basis of the relative stand-alone selling price of each distinct
good or service to be delivered; and recognizes revenue when or as each performance obligation is satisfied in a manner that depicts
the transfer to the customer of the goods or services promised. The Company recognizes revenue when: a contract exists with a lender
party and an agent broker, the contract identifies the use of the platform service to close a mortgage deal, the mortgage deal has
been closed with the lending financial institution, and commissions paid by the lending financial institution based on various criteria
of the mortgage deal including but not limited to interest rates available at that time, term, seasonality, collateral, income, purpose,
etc. Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for services
provided in the normal course of business. Revenue is recognized at the end of the deal upon completion of all the actions listed
above. A typical transaction attracts a commission fee payable to Pineapple Financial Inc.
b)
Subscription
Revenue is a flat fee that is charged to the brokers and agents for use of the platform. Revenue is recognized over the service period.
c)
Underwriting
Revenue is a flat fee charged for risk pre-assessment of the deal before it is submitted to the Lender Partner for funding. The flat
fee is based on the amount of funded volume being financed in the deal. Revenue is recognized at the end of the deal upon completion
of the actions listed in a).
d)
Sponsorship revenue is received from lenders to promote their brands at company events. Company received the revenue
in advance and any unused sponsorship revenue is treated as Deferred Revenue.
F- 14
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
2.
Significant
accounting policies (continued from previous page)
Principal
versus Agent considerations
Judgement
is required in determining whether the Company is a principal or agent in transactions with the lending financial institutions (“Lender
Partner”). The Company evaluates the presentation of revenue on a gross basis, or a net basis based on whether the Company controls
the service provided to the end user and are the principal (i.e., “Gross”) or the Company arranges the brokers to provide
the service to the end user and are an agent ( i.e., “Net”). This determination impacts the presentation of the commission
payable to the brokers.
For
the transactions with the Lender partner our role is to provide instructions to the brokers on the information required from homeowners
to complete a successful mortgage application that would be presented to the Lender partner to review and accept and pay a commission
to Pineapple for facilitating a successful mortgage application. The Company concluded that the control of the mortgage application is
with brokers as the ultimate information that is to be obtained from the homeowners to provide to the lender partner is controlled by
the broker and the Company only facilitates the information transfer from the broker to the Lender partner to obtain mortgage for the
homeowner as such the Company is an agent.
Basic and diluted net loss per Share :
The
Company’s basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted-average
number of shares of ordinary shares outstanding for the period, without consideration of potentially dilutive securities. The diluted
net loss per share is calculated by giving effect to all potentially dilutive securities outstanding for the period using the treasury
share method or the if-converted method based on the nature of such securities. Diluted net loss per share is the same as basic net loss
per share in periods when the effects of potentially dilutive ordinary shares are anti-dilutive.
Recently issued and adopted accounting standards :
As
an “emerging growth company,” the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act”) allows the Company to delay
adoption of new or revised accounting pronouncements applicable to public companies until such pronouncements are made applicable to
private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period under the JOBS Act. The adoption dates discussed below
reflects this election.
Recently
Adopted
In
July 2023, the FASB issued 2023-03 — Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205), Income Statement — Reporting Comprehensive
Income (Topic 220), Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (Topic 480), Equity (Topic 505), and Compensation — Stock Compensation
(Topic 718): Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 120, SEC Staff Announcement at the March
24, 2022, EITF Meeting, and Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 6.B, Accounting Series Release 280 — General Revision of Regulation
S-X: Income or Loss Applicable to Common Stock (SEC Update). The adoption of this standard on August 1, 2023, did not result in amended
disclosures in the Company’s consolidated financial statements, nor did this standard have a material impact the Company’s
results of operations.
In
March 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07 — Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements
to Reportable Segment Disclosures. The update enhances disclosures by requiring entities
to provide more detailed information about significant segment expenses, other segment items,
and measures of segment profit or loss used by the chief operating decision maker (CODM).
The guidance also requires qualitative descriptions of the methods used to determine segment
profit/loss and asset measurement. The adoption of this standard did not have a material
impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements but resulted in expanded
disclosures within the segment reporting footnotes.
Not
Yet Adopted
In
December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09 - Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income
Tax Disclosures. This standard modifies the rules on income tax disclosures to require entities
to disclose specific categories in the rate reconciliation, the income or loss from continuing
operations before income tax expense or benefit, and income tax expense or benefit from continuing
operations. ASU 2023-09 also requires entities to disclose their income tax payments to international,
federal, state, and local jurisdictions. The ASU is effective for years beginning after December
15, 2024, but early adoption is permitted. This ASU should be applied on a prospective basis,
although retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the
impact of this standard on its financial statements and disclosures.
In
March 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-01 - Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope Application of Profits Interest
and Similar Awards. This standard clarifies whether profits interest and similar awards fall within the scope of stock-based compensation
guidance as defined in ASC Topic 718, introducing examples to demonstrate this. The ASU includes scenarios where profits interest
awards are classified as equity instruments or liability awards and situations where they fall outside ASC Topic 718, being accounted
for under ASC Topic 710. The ASU is effective for years beginning after December 15, 2024, but early adoption is permitted. This
ASU should be applied on a prospective basis, although retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating
the impact of this standard on its financial statements and disclosures.
Provisions
A
provision is recognized when the Company has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that
an outflow of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount of the obligation can be reliably estimated.
The amount of a provision is the best estimate of the consideration at the end of the reporting period. Provisions measured using estimated
cash flows required to settle the obligation are determined by discounting the expected future cash flows at a pre-tax rate that reflects
current market assessments of the time value of money and, where appropriate, the risks specific to the liability.
A
provision for onerous contracts is recognized when the expected benefits to be derived by the Company from a contract are lower than
the unavoidable cost of meeting its obligations under the contract. The Company had no material provisions as at August 31, 2024 and
2023.
Deferred
government grant
Government
grants are recognized when there is reasonable assurance that the grants will be received and the company will comply with the conditions.
The grants is deferred and recognized as a liability and is recognized in the statement of operations and compressive loss over the useful
life of the intangible asset.
F- 15
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
3. Significant accounting judgments, estimates and assumptions
The
preparation of consolidated financial statements requires the directors and management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions
that affect the application of policies and reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and revenue and expenses. Actual results may
differ from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting
estimates are recognized in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period or in the period of
the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.
The
following are the critical estimates and judgments applied by management that most significantly affect the Company’s
consolidated financial statements. Uncertainty about these assumptions and estimates could result in outcomes that require a
material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets or liabilities affected in future periods.
Investments
(level 3)
Where
the fair values of financial assets and financial liabilities recorded on the consolidated statements of financial position, cannot
be derived from active markets, they are determined using a variety of valuation techniques. The inputs to these models are derived
from observable market data where possible; where observable market data is not available, Management’s judgment is required
to establish fair values.
Share
based compensation
Management
is required to make certain estimates when determining the fair value of stock options awards, and the number of awards that are expected
to vest. These estimates affect the amount recognized as stock-based compensation in the statements of income and comprehensive income
based on estimates of volatility, forfeitures and expected lives of the underlying stock options which are at a maximum of 36 months
vesting period.
Warrant
Liability :
The
Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s
specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480 and ASC 815. The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding
financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all
of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary
shares, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted
at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
For
issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component
of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification,
the warrants are required to be recorded as liabilities at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date
thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
The
warrants are not precluded from equity classification and are accounted for as such on the date of issuance and will be on each consolidated balance sheet date thereafter. As the warrants are equity classified, they are initially measured at fair
value (or allocated value).
Derivative
Financial Instrument :
The
Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded
derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). For derivative financial
instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date
and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the consolidated
statements of operations and comprehensive loss. For derivative instruments that are classified as equity, the derivative instruments
are initially measured at fair value (or allocated value), and subsequent changes in fair value are not recognized as long as the contracts
continue to be classified in equity.
Use
of estimates:
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that
affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. The Company’s management believes
that the estimates, judgment and assumptions used are reasonable based upon information available at the time they are made. These estimates,
judgments and assumptions can affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the dates of the consolidated financial statements,
and the reported amount of expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Going
Concern
Preparation
of the consolidated financial statement on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and payments of liabilities
in the ordinary course of business. Should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern, it may be unable to realize the carrying
value of its assets, including its intangible assets and to meet its liabilities as they become due
F- 16
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
3.
Significant accounting judgments, estimates and assumptions (continued)
Useful
life of Assets
Significant
judgement is involved in determination of useful life for the property plant and equipment and intangible assets. Management assesses
the reasonability of the useful life on an annual basis to record the depreciation of the intangibles and property plant and equipment.
The intangible assets were
initially assigned a useful life of 5 years. However, in June 2024, based on a reassessment of the software’s expected utility,
the Company revised its estimate of the useful life to 7 years.
This change in estimate has
been accounted for prospectively in accordance with ASC 250, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections . The revision impacts
the future amortization of these intangible assets, aligning the amortization period with the updated estimate of their economic
benefit. In accordance with its policy, the Company reviews the estimated useful
lives of intangible assets on an ongoing basis. This review indicated that the actual lives of certain intangible assets were longer than
the estimated useful lives used for amortization purposes in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. As a result, effective
June 1, 2024, the Company changed its estimated useful life of intangible assets to better reflect the estimated periods during which
these assets will remain in service. The estimated useful life of intangible assets was previously 5 years were increased to 7 years.
The effect of this change in estimate was to reduce the 2024 amortization expense by $41,740, decrease 2024 net loss by $41,740, and decrease
2024 basic and diluted loss per share by $0.01.
4.
Investments
During
the year ended August 31, 2021, the Company purchased an investment in a private company. The Company holds a 5 % interest with no significant
influence. The investment is recorded at FVTPL using level 3 inputs. As at August 31, 2024, the Company recognized a $ Nil change in fair value (2023-
$ 27,143 ). Change in fair value during the current period due to foreign exchange translation.
5.
Property and equipment
The
Company’s property and equipment consist of equipment, furniture, IT equipment, leasehold improvements and laptops.
Schedule of property and equipment
Property and equipment
Cost
Balance, August 31, 2022
$ 296,999
Additions
62,073
Translation adjustment
( 9,789 )
Balance, August 31, 2023
$ 349,283
Additions
4,991
Translation adjustment
569
Balance, August 31, 2024
$ 355,576
Accumulated depreciation
Balance, August 31, 2022
$ 49,334
Depreciation
67,674
Translation adjustment
( 9,816 )
Balance, August 31, 2023
$ 107,192
Depreciation
87,803
Translation adjustment
7,971
Balance, August 31, 2024
$ 202,966
Net carrying value
August 31, 2024
$ 152,610
August 31, 2023
$ 242,091
F- 17
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
6.
Intangible assets
During the current period, the Company capitalized
development costs related to internally generated software classified as intangible assets.
Schedule of cost and accumulated depreciation
Intangible assets
Cost
Balance, August 31, 2022
$ 779,490
Additions
1,300,225
Translation adjustment
( 22,190 )
Balance, August 31, 2023
$ 2,057,525
Additions
1,112,399
Translation adjustment
( 1,794 )
Balance, August 31, 2024
$ 3,168,130
Accumulated amortization
Balance, August 31, 2022
$ 77,102
Amortization
265,150
Translation adjustment
( 3,681 )
Balance, August 31, 2023
$ 338,571
Amortization
616,532
Translation adjustment
1,252
Balance, August 31, 2024
$ 956,355
Net carrying value
August 31, 2024
$ 2,211,775
August 31, 2023
$ 1,718,954
The
estimated amortization expense of definite-lived intangible assets is as follows:
Schedule
of amortization expense of definite lived intangible assets
Year
ending August 31,
2025
491,506
2026
491,506
2027
491,506
2028
491,506
2029
245,753
Total
$ 2,211,775
F- 18
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
7.
Share capital
Authorized
share capital
The
authorized share capital of the Company consists of an unlimited number of common shares with no par value.
Schedule of authorized share capital
#
$
Balance, August 31, 2022 and 2023
6,306,979
4,903,031
Issuance of Common Shares on Initial Public Offering
875,000
3,500,000
Issuance of Common Share against Conversion Note
501,875
465,680
Issuance of Common Shares on Equity Purchase Agreement
741,499
487,491
Share Issuance Costs
-
( 748,063 )
Warrants issued
-
( 48,283 )
Balance, August 31, 2024
8,425,353
8,559,856
On
November 3, 2023, the Company completed Initial Public Offering (IPO) and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange American (NYSEAmerican) under the
ticker PAPL. The Company issued 875,000
shares on the initial public offering and received gross proceeds of $ 3,500,000
on the closing of the public offering. The Company incurred $ 796,346
in share issue costs related to underwriter fees and legal cost fees. The share issue cost balance includes the fair value of $ 48,283
related to 26,250
representative warrants that were issued on November 3, 2023, to the underwriters for an exercise price of $ 4
and expiring on October
31, 2028 .
During
July and August 2024, the Company issued 501,875
common shares to Brownstone Corporation as part
of the conversion of a previously issued convertible note. The conversion included a principal amount of $ 300,000
and accrued interest of $ 4,347
at an annual interest rate of 8.00 %,
as per Note 18.
On
May 10, 2024, the Company entered into an equity purchase agreement (the “EPA”) with Brown Stone Capital Ltd., a corporation
organized under the laws of England and Wales (the “Investor”) pursuant to which the Company shall issue and sell to the
Investor, from time to time as provided herein, and the Investor shall purchase up to Fifteen Million Dollars ($ 15,000,000.00 ) of the
Company’s common shares and issue 200,000 Company’s common shares as a commitment fee under the EPA to the Investor (collectively
as the “EPA Shares”) at purchase price to be determined as per the terms and conditions of the EPA.
In
relation to the EPA Shares the Company has entered into a registration rights agreement dated May 10, 2024 (the “RRA”) with
the Investors, requiring the Company to register the EPA Shares issued under the EPA.
In August 2024, the Company issued 741,499 common shares pursuant to a put notice with Brownstone Corporation, for a total price of $ 487,491 .
F- 19
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
8.
Warrants
a)
Common
Share purchase warrant
Schedule of authorized share capital
#
$
Balance, August 31, 2023
1,652,988
2,922,853
Share-based compensation expense
-
33,091
Balance, August 31, 2024
1,652,988
2,955,944
b)
Warrant
Liability
As noted in Note 7 above on November 3, 2023, the
Company issued 26,250 warrants at an exercise price of $ 4 with an expiry date of October 31, 2028 and on May
10, 2024 the Company entered into a convertible debt transaction (Note 18) and also issued 1,000,000 warrants at an exercise
price of $ 5 with an expiry date of February 10, 2025 . As per ASC 815 the instruments did not meet the criteria to be classified
as equity instruments as such were classified as a financial liability. Below is the continuity of the warrant liability valuation.
The warrants issued on November 3, 2023 were
valued using the Black-Scholes method with the share price of $ 1.86 , exercise price of $ 4 , term of 5 years, risk free rate
of 3.79 % and volatility of 142 % at issuance and share price of $ 1.15 , exercise price of $ 4 , term of 4.42 years, risk
free rate of 3.79 % and volatility of 142 % as at August 31, 2024.
The warrants issued in May 2024 were valued using
the Black-Scholes method with the share price of $ 1.29 , exercise price of $ 5 , term of 6 months, risk free rate of 3.79 %, credit
spread of 31.46 % and volatility of 104 % at issuance and share price of $ 1.94 , exercise price of $ 4 , term of 6 months,
risk free rate of 4.79 %, credit spread of 31.55 % and volatility of 104 % as at August 31, 2024.
Schedule of warrant liability
#
$
Balance at August 31, 2023
-
-
Issuance of warrants
26,250
48,283
Issuance of warrants related to the convertible debt
1,000,000
56,701
Change in fair value of warrant liability
( 63,769 )
Fair Value of Warrants at August 31, 2024
1,026,250
41,520
Schedule of estimate fair value of
share options granted
August
31, 2024
August
31, 2023
Weighted
average estimated fair value per common share
$
0.45
n/a
Weighted average exercise price of the warrant
$
2.85
n/a
Weighted average expected life of the warrant
0.85 years
n/a
As at August 31, 2024, the warrants have no intrinsic value (August 31,
2023 – nil ).
F- 20
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
9.
Share-based benefits reserve
The
Company has a share option plan (the “Plan”) to attract, retain and motivate qualified directors, officers, employees and
consultants whose present and future contributions are important to the success of the Company by offering them an opportunity to participate
in the Company’s future performance through the award of share options.
Each
share option converts into one common share of the Company on exercise. No amounts are paid or payable by the recipient on receipt of
the option. The options carry neither rights to dividends nor voting rights. Options may be exercised at any time from the date of vesting
to the date of their expiry.
In
2017, the Plan was amended such that the total number of common shares reserved and available for grant and issuance pursuant to the
Plan is to equal 10 % of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company.
Options
granted on June 14, 2021, vest
over a 2-year period whereby 25% of the options granted vested on the date of grant, and the remaining unvested options vest in
equal instalments every 6-months thereafter . The fair value of stock options granted was $ 1,317,155 .
A total stock-based compensation expense was recognized of $ Nil
for year ended August 31, 2024 (August 31, 2023 - $ 57,340 ).
The
Chief Financial Officer was granted 63,821 Stock options on November 15, 2021 as part of his compensation package. The options vest over
a 3 -year period whereby 8,974 of the options granted vested on the grant date and the remaining unvested options vest in equal instalments
every 6-months thereafter. The fair value of the stock options granted was $ 141,885 . The Chief Financial Officer options were forfeited
during the year ended August 31, 2023. For year ended August 31, 2024, stock-based compensation expense of $ nil (August 31, 2023 -
$ Nil ) was recognized.
The
following reconciles the options outstanding at the beginning and end of the period that were granted to eligible participants pursuant
to the Plan:
Schedule of options outstanding granted
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2023
Number of Options
Weighted Average Exercise Price
Number of Options
Weighted Average Exercise Price
#
$
#
$
Balance, beginning of year
565,689
3.72
628,510
3.71
Forfeited during the year
-
-
(62,821 )
Balance as at year end
565,689
3.61
565,689
3.72
Exercisable as at year end
565,689
3.61
565,689
3.72
As at August 31, 2024,
the options have no
intrinsic value (August 31, 2023 – nil ). As at August 31, 2024, all options are exercisable with a weighted average remaining life of 1.8 years (August 31,
2023 – 2.8 years).
F- 21
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
10.
Right-of-use asset and lease liability
The
Company leases all its office premises in Ontario and British Columbia, Canada. The Company extended the current Ontario premises of
4,894 sq. ft. lease to January 1, 2030, and acquired additional premises of 8,368 square feet adjacent to the current office premises
with the same landlord. The additional premises lease also expires on January 1, 2030. The total area of use by the Company is 13,262
sq. ft. The Company acquired a 1,454 square feet premise lease in British Columbia commencing August 1, 2023 and expiring on July 31,
2028. The Company recognized a right-of-use asset and corresponding lease liability in respect of this lease. The lease liability was
measured at the present value of the remaining lease payments, discounted using the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate
as at September 1, 2017 (date of initial application), estimated to be 6%. The right-of-use asset was measured at an amount equal to
the lease liability, adjusted by the amount of any prepaid or accrued lease payments relating to that lease recognized in the balance sheet immediately before the date of initial application .
The
following schedule shows the movement in the Company’s right-of-use asset:
Schedule of right-of-use asset
Right-of-use asset
Cost
Balance, August 31, 2022
$ 1,084,523
Additions
141,799
Translation adjustment
( 48,600 )
Balance, August 31, 2023
1,177,721
Translation adjustment
( 42,737 )
Balance, August 31, 2024
$ 1,134,984
The
right-of-use asset is being depreciated on a straight-line basis over the remaining lease term.
Accumulated Depreciation
Balance, August 31, 2022
$ 130,432
Depreciation
108,335
Translation adjustment
( 21,423 )
Balance, August 30, 2023
$ 217,344
Depreciation
134,508
Translation adjustment
( 45,542 )
Balance, August 31, 2024
$ 306,310
Carrying Amount
August 31, 2024
$ 828,674
August 31, 2023
$ 960,377
F- 22
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
10.
Right-of-use asset and lease liability (continued)
The
following schedule shows the movement in the Company’s lease liability during the year:
Schedule of lease liability
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2023
Balance, beginning of year
$ 1,107,961
$ 1,020,585
Additions
-
141,799
Interest Expense
62,604
56,316
Lease payments
( 196,703 )
( 81,090 )
Translation Adjustment
3,245
( 29,649 )
Balance, end of year
$ 977,107
$ 1,107,961
Current
161,508
138,372
Non-Current
815,599
969,589
$ 977,107
$ 1,107,961
The
following table provides a maturity analysis of the Company’s lease liability. The amounts disclosed in the maturity analysis are
the contractual undiscounted cash flows before deducting interest or finance charges:
Schedule of maturity lease liability
2025
217,359
2026
218,555
2027
215,983
2028
229,418
2029
201,431
2030
83,929
Total
Lease liability
$ 1,166,675
F- 23
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
11.
Expenses
The
following table provides a breakdown of the selling, general and administrative:
Schedule of selling, general and administrative expenses
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2023
Year ended
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2023
$
$
Software Subscription
898,870
816,913
Office and general
199,756
187,818
Professional fees
414,482
661,265
Dues and Subscriptions
269,106
58,366
Rent
207,560
165,750
Consulting fees
62,598
210,063
Travel
160,643
97,372
Donations
7,449
46,002
Lease expense
71,148
7,534
Insurance
90,613
( 80,934 )
Selling,
general and administrative
2,382,225
2,170,149
12.
Related party transactions and balances
Compensation
of key management personnel includes the CEO, COO, CSO, and CFO:
Schedule of related party transactions
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2023
$
$
Salaries, Wages and benefits
776,278
522,916
Share-based compensation
-
28,989
F- 24
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
13.
Deferred government grant
The
Company was eligible for the Government of Canada Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SRED) program up to November 3,
2023. The Company has accrued $ 93,226
of SRED receivable as at August 31, 2024, which is recognized in trades and other receivables in the consolidated balance sheet. A
portion of the funds received is related to costs that have been capitalized for the development of internally generated software
recognized as intangible asset in Note 6 as such $ 491,251
(August 31, 2023 – $699,627) of the balance received and accrued is recognized as deferred government incentive balance and will be
recognized as recovery in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss over the useful life of the intangible
assets. As at August 31, 2024, $ 97,646 ,
(August 31, 2023 $ 591,480 )
was recognized as recovery of operating expenses in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.
14.
Risk management arising from financial instruments
a)
Credit
risk
Credit
risk is the risk of loss associated with a counterparty’s inability to fulfill its payment obligations. The Company’s principal
financial assets that expose it to credit risk are cash and trade receivables. The Company mitigates this risk by monitoring the credit
worthiness of its customers and holding cash at financial institutions.
The
maximum credit exposure at August 31, 2024 is the carrying amount of cash and trade receivables. The Company’s exposure to credit
risk is considered to be low, given the size and nature of the various counterparties involved and their history of performance.
The
Company has not historically incurred any significant credit loss in respect of its trade receivables. Based on consideration of all
possible default events over the assets’ contractual lifetime, the expected credit loss in respect of the Company’s trade
receivables was minimal as at August 31, 2024 and August 31, 2023.
b)
Interest
rate risk
Interest
rate risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate due to changes in market interest
rates. The Company does not have any variable interest-bearing debt.
c)
Liquidity
risk
Liquidity
risk is the risk that the Company will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they become due. The Company’s approach
in managing liquidity is to ensure, to the extent possible, that it will have sufficient liquidity to meet its liabilities when due,
by continuously monitoring actual and forecasted cash flows, refer to Going Concern in Note 1.
d)
Management
of capital
The
Company’s objective of managing capital, comprising of shareholders’ equity, is to ensure its continued ability to operate
as a going concern. The Company manages its capital structure and makes changes to it based on economic conditions.
Management
and the Board of Directors review the Company’s capital management approach on an ongoing basis and believe this approach, given
the relative size of the Company, is reasonable. The Company is not subject to externally imposed capital requirements. The Company’s
capital management objectives, policies and processes have remained unchanged during the year ended August 31, 2024.
F- 25
Pineapple
Financial Inc.
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the years ended August 31, 2024 and 2023
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
15.
Commitments and contingencies
In
the ordinary course of operating, the Company may from time to time be subject to various claims or possible claims. Management believes
that there are no claims or possible claims that if resolved would either individually or collectively result in a material adverse impact
on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. These matters are inherently uncertain, and management’s
view of these matters may change in the future.
See
note 10 related to lease commitments.
16.
Disaggregation of revenue
Schedule of disaggregation of revenue
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2023
Year ended
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2023
$
$
Gross Billing
16,264,172
15,026,896
Commission expense
14,895,885
13,931,836
Revenue
1,368,287
1,095,060
Subscription revenue
738,697
736,708
Other revenue
320,505
332,448
Sponsorship revenue
107,741
189,968
Underwriting revenue
153,757
148,080
Total revenue
2,688,987
2,502,264
17.
Loan
The
Company entered into a loan on July 31, 2023, with a one-year
term and maturity date of July
31, 2024 . The Company obtained a loan of $ 430,098
with an annual compounded interest rate of 12 %
per annum. The Company paid a 2 %
advance fee to obtain the loan as at August 31, 2023. The Company received an additional advance of $ 87,369
related to the Loan during the year ended August 31, 2024. The Company obtained the loan based on the qualified SRED amount to be
obtained for fiscal year 2023 and August 31, 2024, noted in Note 13. The loan was settled in full during March 2024. The interest on
loan is shown separately in consolidated statements of cash flow.
18.
Convertible Loan
On May 10, 2024, the Company issued an unsecured convertible
debt (‘debt”) of $ 300,000 carrying a two -year term with interest on the outstanding principal amount from the date
of issuance accrued at the rate of 8 % per annum. The Company also issued 1,000,000 warrants with exercise price of $ 5 in
connection with the convertible debt (Note 8).
The Company has an option to prepay the loan prior to the maturity date
subject to a prepayment fee of $ 75,000 .
The conversion price of the debt shall equal to 75 % of the volume
weighted average price (VWAP) on the trading day immediately preceding the conversion date.
The conversion feature of the note was not clearly and closely related
to the debt and should be recognized as a derivative liability. The Company determined that the estimate fair value of the derivative
liability is $ 76,543 . The prepayment option was not clearly and closely related to the debt and should be recognized a derivative
liability. The Company determined the estimated fair value of the prepayment option to be $ nil .
The Company incurred debt issuance cost of $ 94,687 which was applied
against the principal of the debt. The debt component of the convertible debt was valued using the effective interest method, based on
an estimated effective interest of 46 %.
During the year ended August
31, 2024, the Company incurred interest of $ 4,411
recognized in interest expense in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss accretion expense of $ 223,059 recognized
in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.
The convertible note was converted into shares in July 2024. Company issued
501,874 shares against the convertible note and the accrued interest thereon.
19.
Income taxes
The
reconciliation of the combined federal and state income tax rate of 26.5% (2023 – 26.5%) to the effective tax rate is
as follows:
Schedule
of Federal and State Income Tax Rate
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2023
(Loss) before recovery of income taxes
( 4,102,659 )
( 2,809,037 )
Expected income tax (recovery) expense
( 1,087,200 )
( 744,395 )
Non-deductible expenses
112,110
45,338
Share issuance cost booked directly to equity
( 219,330 )
-
Valuation Allowance
1,194,420
699,057
Income tax expense (recovery)
-
-
Deferred
income taxes
The
following table summarizes the component of deferred tax
Schedule
of Deferred Income Taxes
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2023
Deferred tax assets
Intangible assets
54,750
-
Finance lease liabilities
258,930
293,610
Convertible debentures
6,550
-
Investments
5,240
3,930
Share issuance costs
413,950
435,920
Operating tax losses carried forward
2,633,950
1,844,180
SR&ED Pool from T661
271,750
67,560
Charitable donations carryforward
28,010
29,000
Total deferred tax assets
3,673,130
2,674,200
Valuation allowance
( 3,440,100 )
( 2,266,630 )
Total net deferred tax assets
233,030
407,570
Deferred tax liabilities
Property, plant and equipment
( 13,430 )
( 41,190 )
Right of use assets
( 219,600 )
( 254,500 )
Intangible assets
-
( 110,960 )
Loan
-
( 920 )
Total deferred tax liabilities
( 233,030 )
( 407,570 )
Net deferred tax liability
-
-
The Canadian operating tax loss carry forward expire in 2044. The remaining deductible temporary differences may be carried forward
indefinitely.
The Company has adopted the provisions of ASC 740-10, which clarifies the accounting for uncertain tax positions. ASC 740-10 requires
that the Company recognize the impact of a tax position in its financial statements if the position is more likely than not to be sustained
upon examination based on the technical merits of the position. For the year ended August 31, 2024, the Company had no material unrecognized
tax benefits, and based on the information currently available, no significant changes in unrecognized tax benefits are expected in the
next 12 months.
20.
Subsequent events
Company entered into a short term loan
agreement for $ 525,000 during the month of October 2024. The loan has $ 25,000 adminstrative fee at the time of
disbursement.
On
November 14, 2024, Company issued 382,667 ordinary shares at the purchase price of $ 0.60 per share. Further Company also issued 1,284,000
Pre-funded Warrants at the price of $ 0.5999 . Total gross proceeds from offering was $ 999,871
F- 26
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed
on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in City of North York, Province of Ontario, Canada on December 20, 2024.
PINEAPPLE
FINANCIAL INC.
By:
/s/
Shubha Dasgupta
Shubha
Dasgupta
Chief
Executive Officer
By:
/s/
Sarfraz Habib
Sarfraz
Habib
Chief
Financial Officer
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities
and on the dates indicated.
Signature
Title
Date
/s/
Shubha Dasgupta
Chief
Executive Officer
December
20, 2024
Shubha
Dasgupta
(Principal
Executive Officer)
/s/
Sarfraz Habib
Chief
Financial Officer
December
20, 2024
Sarfraz
Habib
(Principal
Accounting and Financial Officer)
/s/
Kendall Marin
President;
Chief Operating Officer; and Director
December
20, 2024
Kendall
Marin
/s/
Drew Green
Chairman
of the Board
December
20, 2024
Drew
Green
/s/
Paul Baron
Director
December
20, 2024
Paul
Baron
/s/
Tasis Giannoukakis
Director
December
20, 2024
Tasis
Giannoukakis
/s/
Nima Besharat
Director
December
20, 2024
Nima
Besharat
65
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.