The Crown corporation reported a net profit of $306.6 million during the first quarter of its financial year.
While sales in its outlets dropped during the first quarter, an increase in sales in wholesale grocers allowed the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) to report an increase in profits for the first three months of its fiscal year.
The SAQ reported on Tuesday a net profit of $306.6 million during its first quarter, which ended June 22. The result represents an increase of 1.8 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Its sales in dollars increased by 0.1 per cent year over year, to reach $903.4 million.
SAQ outlets sold less alcohol in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. Total volume of sales stood at 41.9 million litres, a decrease of 1.2 million litres or 2.8 per cent compared with the same period in 2023.
The average purchase amount by customers also dropped slightly from $62.51 to $61.93, while the average selling price per litre increased from $20.90 to $21.08.
Overall, the SAQ’s network of outlets recorded $830 million in sales — a drop of $6.7 million or 0.8 per cent compared with last year.
The drop in sales in outlets is part of a trend observed during the previous fiscal year, when such sales were down by 2.3 per cent.
However sales of SAQ products in wholesale groceries increase by $7.6 million or 11.6 per cent compared with the previous year to total $73.4 million. The volume of sales also saw an increase of 0.5 million litres to total 7.7 million litres.
The Crown corporation’s net expenses increased by 4.1 per cent to reach $138.1 million during the first quarter.