The Quebec liquor board (Société des alcools du Québec – SAQ) announced net earnings of $1.428 billion for its 2023-2024 fiscal year, up a very slight 0.1 per cent on the previous year, while sales declined in volume.
Sales totalled $4.101 billion, up 1.3 per cent from $4.048 billion in 2022-2023.
In terms of volume, however, sales fell by 2.3 per cent to 223 million litres, compared with 228.2 million litres in 2022-2023.
The fiscal year ended on March 30, 2024, and exceptionally included 53 weeks, which explains the slight increase in revenues despite the drop in volume sales.
SAQ president and CEO Jacques Farcy said in the financial report that the drop in sales is a “widespread trend in the global wine and spirits industry, accentuated by a less vigorous economic context, while inflation continues to weigh on our customers’ wallets.”
Sales in the SAQ store network rose by 2.4 per cent to $3.773 billion, while sales to wholesale grocers fell by 9.9 per cent to $328 million.
Net expenses fell by 1.6 per cent to $603.6 million for fiscal 2023-2024.
Sales of Quebec products totalled $595.3 million for the year, up 1.85 per cent on last year’s $584.5 million. This represents 14.5 per cent of total SAQ sales.
Ready-to-drink products continued their ascent on SAQ shelves. They accounted for 11.1 per cent of sales for the 2023-2024 year, up 0.6 per cent. The market share of wines fell slightly to 71 per cent, while spirits accounted for 16.7 per cent of sales.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 6, 2024.