Montreal, September 17th, 2024 – For the first quarter of its 2024-2025 fiscal year, which ended on June 22, 2024, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) reported net income of $306.6 million, a $5.3 million or 1.8% increase from the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year. 

 

Results in brief 

    • Despite a $6.7 million drop in sales in our store and specialized centre network but bolstered by a $7.6 million sales increase in the wholesale grocer network, dollar sales rose 0.1% to $903.4 million. 
    • Government revenues totalled $590.2 million, up $3.2 million or 0.5% from the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year. Of this amount, $471.7 million will be remitted to the Quebec treasury and $118.5 million to the federal government. 

 

 

Net income 

$306.6 million 

+1.8% 

 

Sales 

$903.4 million 

+0.1% 


Gross margin 

$444.7 million 

+2.5% 

 

Ratio of net expenses to sales 

15.3% 

14,7% for T1 2023-2024 

 

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

    • Dollar sales in this network totalled $830 million, a $6.7 million or 0.8% decrease. 
    • Volume sales fell 1.2 million litres or 2.8% to 41.9 million litres. 
    • Online sales were up 3.1% from the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year, reaching $23.1 million and accounting for 3.5% of consumer sales. 
    • The value of customers’ average shopping cart dropped 0.9%, going from $62.51 to $61.93. 
    • For consumer sales overall, the average sales price per litre rose to $21.08, compared with $20.90 in the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year. 

 

Wholesale grocer network 

    • Dollar sales in this network grew $7.6 million or 11.6% to reach $73.4 million. 
    • Volume sales increased 0.5 million litres or 6.9% to end the quarter at 7.7 million litres. 
    • 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 rose to $138.1 million versus $132.6 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2023-2024, a $5.5 million or 4.1% increase. 
    • Expressed as a percentage of sales, net expenses in the first quarter were 15.3%, compared with 14.7% 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, will be found in its Q1 financial report (in French only).