MONTRÉAL, Sept. 5, 2024 /CNW/ – For the first quarter of its 2024-2025 fiscal year which ended June 22, 2024, the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) reported comprehensive income of $23.9 million, compared with $20.6 million for the same quarter of the preceding fiscal year.
To this amount can be added business-related tax revenues in the form of consumer and excise taxes, corresponding to $60.0 million, of which $43.0 million is going to Québec and $17.0 million to the federal government.
In all and including its comprehensive income, the SQDC is remitting $83.9 million to the two levels of government, including $66.9 million destined for the Québec treasury. These funds are reinvested primarily in cannabis-related prevention efforts and research.
Quarterly results at a glance
- Overall sales in the first quarter totalled $162.9 million as opposed to $142.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2023-2024.
- In terms of volume, some 32,098 kg of cannabis were sold during the quarter, compared with 25,675 kg during the first quarter of the preceding fiscal year. The increase can be explained by two factors: the now-settled labour dispute, which limited the operations of 24 stores during the first quarter of 2023-2024, and the growth in demand for concentrate-type products, which had the effect of increasing equivalent-gram sales volume. The average sales price of all cannabis products taken together was $5.84 a gram, taxes included.
- A total of 4.1 million transactions were completed during the quarter, compared with 3.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2023-2024.
- Store network sales amounted to $155.0 million versus $135.5 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2023-2024.
- Online sales reached $7.9 million last quarter, down from $9.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2023-2024. The decrease is attributable to the end of the labour dispute that affected 24 stores and during which a number of customers turned to the transactional website.
- In the first quarter, the SQDC’s net expenses totalled $28.8 million, compared with $24.8 million in fiscal 2023-2024. Expressed as a percentage of sales, net expenses were 17.7% versus 17.4% in fiscal 2023-2024. By way of information, net expenses consist of selling and administrative expenses and net finance income and other income.
- The SQDC had 98 stores open during the first quarter. It now has 100.
Highlights of the quarter
To better meet customers’ expectations and needs, the SQDC continued making improvements to the offer in some of its product categories, particularly extracts and formats (sizes).
The company opened a second store in the city of Trois-Rivières during the first quarter and continued evaluating new market opportunities. Consolidating its sales network and opening stores in new, underserved areas allow the company to offer increased accessibility to its customers and thus to carry out its mission of reducing the scope and size of the illegal cannabis market in Québec.
The financial report for the first quarter of the 2024-2025 fiscal year is now available (in French only) on the SQDC website: Publications | SQDC
About the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC)
The SQDC is a government corporation mandated to distribute and sell cannabis in Québec with a focus on protecting customers’ health and safety. The company is committed to offering quality products and informing and advising consumers on how to minimize the health impacts of cannabis. The objective is to shrink the illegal cannabis market in Québec. All the SQDC’s profits are remitted to the Fonds de lutte contre les dépendances, a fund managed by the Ministère des Finances du Québec, and reinvested primarily in cannabis-related education, prevention efforts and research. For more information, visit SQDC.ca.
SOURCE Société québécoise du cannabis
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