Montreal, June 6th, 2024 – For its 2023-2024 fiscal year, which ended on March 30, 2024, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) reported net income of $1.428 billion, a $2 million or 0.1% increase from the preceding fiscal year. This was despite a 2.3% drop in litre sales. 

Results in brief 

  • A $1.428 billion dividend will be remitted to the Quebec government. To this amount are added taxes and other duties, for a total contribution to the Quebec Treasury of $2.174 billion. An amount of $518.5 million is also intended for the federal government, for a total amount of $2.693 billion in government revenue. 
  • Volume sales ended the year at 223 million litres, a 2.3% decrease. 
  • Dollar sales rose a slight 1.3% to reach $4.101 billion. 
  • The 2023-2024 fiscal year included an additional week of operation, which explains most of the sales increase.  

 

Net income
$1.428 billion
+0.1%

Sales
$4.101 billion
+1.3%

Gross margin
$2.032 billion
-0.4%

Ratio of net expenses to sales
14.7%
15.2% in 2022-2023

 

 

Store and specialized centre network (permit holders, agency stores and other customers) 

  • Dollar sales in this network totalled $3.773 billion, an $89 million or 2.4% increase. 
  • Volume sales rose 0.7 million litres or 0.4% to 187.5 million litres. 
  • Online sales were up 12.1% from the preceding fiscal year, reaching $104.6 million and accounting for 3.4% of consumer sales. 
  • The value of customers’ average shopping cart dropped 3.3%, from $65.26 to $63.13. 
  • For consumer sales overall, the average sales price per litre rose to $21.68, compared with $21.34 for the preceding fiscal year.  

 

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 $36 million or 9.9% to end the year at $328 million. 
  • Volume sales totalled 35.5 million litres, a 5.9 million litre or 14.3% decrease.  

 

Net expenses 

  • Net expenses amounted to $603.6 million versus $613.5 million for fiscal 2022-2023, a $9.9 million or 1.6% decrease. 
  • Expressed as a percentage of sales, net expenses were 14.7%, compared with 15.2% for the preceding fiscal year. 

The SAQ’s complete financial results can be viewed by all Quebecers in its Annual Report 2023-2024 (English version available soon)