Following four years of consistent growth in its sales network, the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) has reached a plateau due to the ongoing labour dispute that started in May last year.
The Quebecois provincial cannabis retailer announced its fiscal 2021-2022 financial results on Monday and reported a net income of $94.9 million from $75.7 million in the previous year. It reported total sales of $601.9 million, compared with $600.5 million for the preceding fiscal year.
The operation of the SQDC has led to the generation of substantial government revenues. This includes consumer and excise taxes, which are estimated to be around $193.8 million. Of this, $137.8 million is allocated to Québec, while the federal government receives $56.0 million. Consequently, the total contribution of the SQDC to the Québec treasury amounts to $232.7 million.
The net income of $94.9 million, along with the Québec segment of the excise tax, is fully transferred to the Ministère des Finances du Québec. These funds are primarily reinvested in efforts related to cannabis prevention and research, as well as combating the negative impacts of psychoactive substances.
Read more: SQDC reports Q1 net income of $20.5M, 24% of stores still on strike
Read more: 91% of SQDC employees under CUPE vote in favour of strike mandate
The SQDC’s network, consisting of 97 stores, three of which were inaugurated in the final weeks of the fiscal year, recorded sales of $567.8 million. This is a slight increase from the $564.4 million in sales from the previous year, which had an 87-store network. The total volume of cannabis sold in the store network amounted to 100,254 kilograms, a slight increase from the 100,026 kilograms sold in the 2022 fiscal year.
On the other hand, online sales on the SQDC.ca website amounted to $34.1 million, a slight decrease from the $36.2 million in 2022, with a total volume of 6,272 kilograms of cannabis sold, down from 6,462 kilograms in the previous year.
In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the SQDC completed 13.9 million transactions both in-store and online, with an average transaction price of $49.70, including taxes. The average sales price for one gram of cannabis remained steady at $6.48, including taxes, the same as the previous fiscal year.
Read more: SQDC launches pilot 90-minute cannabis delivery service
Read more: SQDC reports losses in revenue due to ongoing strike
Ongoing strike continues to decrease profits
Last November the SQDC said it has seen a decrease in its profits this year since a number of its stores went on strike in May last year.
Negotiations have been underway between the SQDC and relevant union organizations with the goal of renewing the collective agreements for unionized store employees. On July 27 last year, an agreement was reached with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which represents employees from 17 stores.
Negotiations are still ongoing with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 26 stores.
Employees from 24 of these stores are currently on strike, with 22 of them on strike since May 2022. Despite the strike, the affected stores remain operational, albeit with reduced hours.
Last February, the Société Québécoise du Cannabis announced the launch of the 90-minute delivery available in the Capitale-Nationale, Chaudière-Appalaches, Mauricie, Outaouais and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean regions.
Follow Natalia Buendia Calvillo on Twitter
natalia@mugglehead.com
