Investors still have no idea how much recreational pot Cronos Group Inc. sold as its losses continued to mount, according to fourth-quarter earnings it reported Tuesday before the opening bell.

Cronos CRON, -1.41% CRON, -1.10%  stock tumbled 5% in Tuesday morning trading.

As the last of the world’s largest cannabis companies by market valuation reported results, it remains clear that Canada’s recreational market has not yet proven as lucrative or efficient as its boosters had hoped. Cronos echoed its much larger rivals Aurora Cannabis Inc. ACB, -0.97% ACB, -1.13%  and Canopy Growth Corp.CGC, +1.06% WEED, +1.00%  — in terms of sales — describing challenges it faced packaging recreational potand growing uncertainty over the now-outlawed edibles regime set to take effect this year.

And like many of its rivals in Canada and the U.S., Cronos did not make it easy for investors to quickly figure out what happened during the quarter.

Buried deep in the company’s financial statements — and not included in the company’s earnings press release — Cronos disclosed fourth-quarter losses widened to C$11.8 million ($8.8 million), which amounts to six cents a share. That’s compared with profits of C$667,000, or a penny a share in the year-ago quarter.

Like its rivals, revenue increased substantially. Cronos logged fourth-quarter gross sales of C$5.6 million, up from C$1.6 million in the year-ago period. The Toronto-based company sold 1,040 kilograms of cannabis, which includes dried flower and cannabis oil. Wall Street expected revenue of C$10.4 million, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

But, Cronos did not disclose how much pot it sold into the recreational market for adult use, which Canada legalized October 17. Chief Executive Mike Gorenstein said in the conference call early Tuesday that Canada continued to face a significant “shortage situation” and that executives planned to tell investors more about its recreational sales in the future, when the market was more stable.

“[We’re incentivized to sell less oil because the excise tax can be punishing,” Gorenstein said in the call, referring to cannabis oil versus flower for smoking. Because of that, Cronos sales were skewed toward flower, which accounted for roughly 75% of fourth-quarter revenue. Oil accounted for the vast majority of the remaining 25%.

Cronos also did not disclose the amount of recreational pot after the company’s September earnings but said they accounted for a “major” part.

Processing cannabis for the recreational market continues to be a challenge for Cronos, much like its rivals. It can grow enough pot to meet its current demands, executives say, but taking the raw marijuana plants, and transforming them into packaged goods, including adding the federally mandated excise stamp, remains a problem.

“We want to make sure we can efficiently get product out the door to all partners we onboard,” Gorenstein said. “Each time you add a province you add complications to other aspects of the supply chain.”

Cronos is planning to expand beyond the four provinces it ships to now into large markets such as Quebec and Alberta, but will not do so until “we can get everything right in terms of automation before we expand across the country.”

Automation is one place where the expertise that Marlboro-maker Altria Group Inc. MO, +0.85%  brought to the table as part of its investment might come in useful.—along with the C$2.4 billion in cash. That cash bought Altria 45% of Cronos, with the right to acquire a majority interest in the future.

In the short run, a host of current and former executives have joined Cronos Group’s ranks: for example, Jerry Barbato, senior vice president and chief strategy and growth officer at Altria, is replacing the outgoing Chief Financial Officer William Hilson. Hilson will remain at Cronos as the company’s chief commercial officer.

In the call early Tuesday, Gorenstein said that after the Altria deal closed in March, Cronos priorities are to acquire talent and focus on research and development. Altria will be able to assist with developing products in Canada and help Cronos be “a leader in responsibility” that “will be required to be able to participate in a long term, sustainable industry.”

Vape pens and pre-rolled joints were other areas the CEO said that Altria’s experience will help. Specifically with pre-rolled joints, which are a higher margin product for many cannabis companies, Gorenstein said that Altria may help with the look and feel of the product, how it’s packaged and presented to consumers and production of the joints themselves.

“We think that’s a bigger differentiator than cultivation,” Gorenstein said.