UPDATE 1-Pot producer Canopy Growth posts large loss on impairment charge

(Adds background, CFO comment)

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Canada's Canopy Growth Corp reported a quarterly loss on Friday, as the cannabis producer incurred an impairment charge of C$1.72 billion ($1.33 billion) related to its operations.

Canopy Growth earlier this year extended its time frame to achieve profitability after nearly four years of cannabis legalization in Canada, as cheaper black market rates and fewer-than-expected retail stores eat into the sales of legal recreational companies.

Canopy now expects to turn in a positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization in fiscal 2024, excluding certain investments. Analysts, however, estimate it will be delayed by another year.

"We expect cost savings to ramp in the second half of the year, enabling us to execute on our path to profitability even as we continue to invest in strategic growth initiatives including in BioSteel and our U.S. THC ecosystem,” Chief Financial Officer Judy Hong said in a statement.

The company posted an adjusted core loss of C$74.8 million in the first quarter ended June 30, compared to C$63.6 million a year earlier.

Net loss attributable to Canopy Growth was C$2.08 billion or C$5.23 per share for the first quarter, compared to a profit of C$392.4 million or C$1.02 per share, a year earlier. ($1 = 1.2891 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)