MONTRÉAL – The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) reported comprehensive income of $29.4 million for the second quarter of its 2024-2025 fiscal year, which ended September 14, 2024. For comparison purposes, comprehensive income was $24.9 million for the same quarter of the preceding fiscal year.
Tax revenues, in the form of consumer and excise taxes generated by the company’s operations, amounted to $61.4 million, $43.9 million of which is paid to the Québec government and $17.5 million to the federal government.
In all and including the comprehensive income, the SQDC is remitting $90.8 million to the two levels of government, including $73.3 million to the Québec treasury, which will be reinvested primarily in cannabis-related prevention efforts and research.
Quarterly results at a glance
Overall sales in the second quarter totalled $173.7 million as opposed to $151.7 million in the second quarter of the preceding fiscal year.
In terms of volume, some 34,675 kg of cannabis were sold during the second quarter, compared with 27,498 kg during the second quarter of the preceding fiscal year. The average sales price of all cannabis products taken together was $5.76 a gram, taxes included.
The sales increase can be largely explained by the end of the labour dispute, which limited the operations of 24 stores during the second quarter of fiscal 2023-2024, as well as a rise in traffic during the summer season, the opening of two new stores and a growing demand for concentrate-type products, which had the effect of increasing equivalent-gram sales volume.
A total of 4.4 million transactions were completed during the second quarter, compared with 3.6 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2023-2024.
Store network sales reached $166.0 million versus $142.3 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2023-2024.
Online sales totalled $7.7 million for the quarter, down from around $9.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2023-2024. It should be noted that during the second quarter of fiscal 2023-2024, the stores affected by the labour dispute operated on a reduced schedule, leading to an increase in online sales.
In the second quarter, the SQDC’s net expenses totalled $27.5 million, compared with $23.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2023-2024. Expressed as a percentage of sales, net expenses were 15.8% versus 15.7% in the second quarter of 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 100 stores at the end of the second quarter, two more than at the end of the second quarter of the preceding fiscal year.
Highlights of the second quarter
The SQDC finished deploying a major technology solution aimed at updating the checkout system across its store network and helping to optimize the efficiency of its processes.
The SQDC continues to evaluate market opportunities. Accordingly, the opening of stores in coming months in areas not yet served will allow the company to increase accessibility for its customers and thus to carry out its mission of reducing the scope and size of the illegal cannabis market in Québec while maintaining a focus on health protection.
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
