According to the new financial report released by The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC), the government-run retailer reported $173 million in sales during its 16-week third quarter ending January 2, 2021. This is an increase of $52.8 million, or 44%, from the previous quarter, and an increase of $62.2 million, or 56%, from the same quarter during the previous fiscal year. This amounts to 28,254 kg of cannabis sold legally in the province.
After the $20.2 million, or 11.7% of sales, in expenses, the SQDC reported a net income of $23.3 million, more than doubling its profit from the same time in the 2019-2021 fiscal year, which was only $11.6 million. Expenses increased 37% over the third quarter, from $14.7 million to $20.2 million, however, the SQDC managed to open 11 new locations during that time. One location each was added in La Malbaie, Coaticook, Saint-Félicien, Fleurimont (Sherbrooke), Le Village (Montreal), Varennes, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Avenue du Mont-Royal Est (Montreal), Thetford Mines, Cowansville and Pincourt, making a total retail footprint of 56 stores.
High sales and a relatively small number of stores give Quebec the highest average sales per store in the country. Through these stores, the staff has facilitated more than 3.3 million transactions and moved 26,239 kg of cannabis, with around 170,000 Quebecois cannabis consumers purchasing their products online. The SQDC also expanded its same-day delivery services to Laval and 15 other towns and cities on Montreal’s South Shore and in the western Montérégie region.
To date, the SQDC has earned a total net income of $48.1 million, which, in addition to the approximately $48.5 million in excise and consumer taxes collected during the third quarter, will be remitted to the Quebec Government and reinvested mostly in cannabis research and prevention.