MONTREAL, Sept. 13, 2023 /CNW/ - For the first quarter of its 2023-2024 fiscal year, which ended on June 17, 2023, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) reported net income of $301.3 million, a $24.3 million or 7.5% decrease from the same quarter of the preceding fiscal year.
Results in brief
- Dollar sales fell 1.2% to $902.5 million.
- Government revenues totalled $587 million, a $31.8 million (5.1%) decrease compared with the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year, $468 million of which will be remitted to the Quebec treasury and $119 million to the federal government.
Net income $301.3 million -7.5% | Sales $902.5 million -1.2% |
Gross margin $433.9 million -5.7% | Ratio of net expenses to sales 14.7% |
Store and specialized centre (permit holders, agencies and other customers) network
- Dollar sales in this network totalled $836.7 million, a $6.2 million or 0.7% increase.
- Volume sales fell 1.0 million litres or 2.3% to 43.1 million litres.
- Online sales decreased 5.9% compared with the first quarter of the preceding fiscal year to reach $22.4 million. They now make up 3.3% of all consumer sales.
- The value of consumers' average shopping cart dropped 4.4%, going from $65.40 to $62.51.
- The decline in the average value of consumers' shopping cart and in online sales are due mainly to consumers' gradual resumption of their former shopping habits, as evidenced by the 4.9% uptick in store traffic.
- For consumer sales as a whole, the average sales price per litre rose to $20.90, compared with $20.36 for the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year.
- In the first quarter of fiscal 2023-2024, sales of Quebec products reached $131.5 million, a 2.6% increase, and now account for 15.7% of all sales made in the store and specialized centre network.
Wholesale grocer network
- Dollar sales in this network declined $16.8 million or 20.3% to end the quarter at $65.8 million.
- Volume sales totalled 7.2 million litres, a 2.4 million litre or 25% decrease.
- The drop in sales in the wholesale grocer network in the first quarter is attributable to, among other things, the high level of orders in two last quarters of the preceding fiscal year.
- It should be noted that the SAQ acts as a wholesaler to the Quebec grocery and convenience store network. Consequently, the sales made in this network do not necessarily correspond to the sales these establishments made to consumers.
Net expenses
- Net expenses fell to $132.6 million as opposed to $134.4 million in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2022-2023, a $1.8 million or 1.3% decrease.
- Expressed as a percentage of sales, net expenses remained stable at 14.7%, compared with the same quarter in the preceding fiscal year.
The SAQ's quarterly financial results, including the sales and expense trends for the last five years, are available in its Q1 Financial Report (in French only) 
.
About the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ)
Created in 1921, the SAQ imports, distributes and sells a broad range of wines, beers and spirits. Its sales network comprises 410 stores and 428 agency stores located throughout Quebec as well as a transactional website, SAQ.com. Driven by the passion and know-how of its 7,000 employees, the SAQ offers Quebecers a world of discovery, with nearly 40,000 products from 3,800 suppliers in 77 countries. In fiscal 2022-2023, the SAQ remitted more than $2.0 billion to the Quebec government and supported some 230 organizations and events while also ensuring its business activities respected local communities and the environment.
For more information, visit the SAQ.COM website, follow us on X (@LaSAQ_officiel ) or view our Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
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