Quebec’s Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) brought in $33 million for its third quarter of the 2023-2024 financial year, which ended December 30.
Quebec’s portion of federal excise taxes, plus local taxes, brought in an additional $76.5 million to provincial coffers, for a total of $109.5 million in sales and tax revenue.
The SQDC’s total sales between September 10 and December 30, 2023, reached $201.6 million, compared to $187.3 million in the same quarter of the last financial year, an increase of 7.6% year-over-year.
This is an increase from $61.4 million from cannabis sales and taxes in the second quarter of 2023, selling $151.7 million worth of cannabis.
Quebec sold 37,215 kg of cannabis in Q3 2023, compared to 33,242 kg in the same quarter for 2022 and 27,498 kg in the previous quarter for 2023.
The vast majority of sales continue to be through brick-and-mortar SQDC stores, while just 2,357 kg of cannabis were sold through SQDC’s online store, for a total amount of $12.3 million. A police captain in northern Quebec recently said that the provincial government’s limits on payment options for online cannabis orders are pushing people to the illicit market.
Of the $201.6 million in cannabis sales, flower sales accounted for $167.7 million (83%), while other cannabis producers were $34 million.
The SQDC now has 98 branches, compared to 92 at the end of the third quarter of the previous fiscal year. It recently announced it was closing one store in Montreal.
The SQDC also says it has improved its product categories, particularly in extracts, edible products and formats, adding to increased sales and better meeting consumer demand. The SQDC recently put out a call for “off-cycle products” like 7-gram flower SKUs, pre-roll multi-packs, resin, and rosin, among others.
On November 13, 2023, the SQDC and the employees represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE-5454) signed new collective agreements, putting an end to the labour conflict and leading to a gradual return to normal activities.
On November 27, 2023, Suzanne Bergeron joined the organization as President and CEO.
The interim financial report for the quarter from September 10 to December 30, 2023, is available now on SQDC.ca.
