MONTREAL, Dec. 11, 2023 /CNW/ - For the second quarter of its 2023-2024 fiscal year, which ended on September 9, 2023, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) reported net income of $336.3 million, a $14.1 million or 4% decrease from the same quarter of the preceding fiscal year.
Results in brief
- Dollar sales fell a slight 0.6% to $945,7 million. The decrease is due to declining sales in the wholesale grocer network.
- Excluding the wholesale grocer network, dollar sales for the store and specialized centre network totalled $878.1 million (+0,2%).
- The slowdown in growth seen in the two most recent quarters may persist due to the current economy.
- Government revenues totalled $631.7 million, a $23 million (3,5%) decrease from the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year, $511.4 million of which will be remitted to the Quebec treasury and $120.3 million to the federal government.
Net income $336.3 million -4% | Sales $945.7 million -0.6% |
Gross margin $470.8 million -2.5%
| Ratio of net expenses to sales 14.2% |
Store and specialized centre (permit holders, agencies and other customers) network
- Dollar sales in this network totalled $878.1 million, a $2.1 million or 0.2% increase.
- Volume sales fell 0.9 million litres or 1.9% to 46.6 million litres.
- Online sales increased 4.5% from the second quarter of the preceding fiscal year to reach $18.5 million. They now make up 2.6% of consumer sales.
- The value of consumers' average shopping cart dropped 3.2%, going from $64.51 to $62.42, due mainly to the fact that consumers are visiting stores more often, as evidenced by the 3.2% uptick in store traffic.
- For consumer sales as a whole, the average sales price per litre rose to $20.41, compared with $19.99 for the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year.
- In the second quarter of fiscal 2023-2024, sales of Quebec products totalled $147.8 million, a 0.7% increase, and now account for 16.8% of all sales made in the store and specialized centre network.
Wholesale grocer network
- 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.
- Dollar sales in this network fell $7.8 million or 10.3% to end the quarter at $67.6 million.
- Volume sales totalled 7.2 million litres, a 1.2 million litre or 14.3% decrease.
- The drop in sales in the wholesale grocer network in the second quarter is attributable to, among other things, the high level of orders in the last two quarters of the preceding fiscal year.
Net expenses
- Net expenses rose to $134.5 million as opposed to $132.5 million in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2022-2023, a $2 million or 1.5% increase.
- Expressed as a percentage of sales, net expenses were 14.2%, compared with 13.9% for the same quarter of 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 Q2 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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