New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador recently released their third quarter financial reports and provincial cannabis sales are up across the board.
New Brunswick
Cannabis NB released its results for the third quarter ending January 1, 2023, and total product sales for the quarter were $21.6 million, an increase of 5.0% compared to the same period last year.
Dried flowers, concentrates, and edibles were the top selling products. Sales of all categories increased this quarter compared to the prior year, with the exception of dried flower down by 8.0%.
Also during this quarter, Cannabis NB opened new stores in Saint John and Moncton, part of government’s plans to improve customer experience and access to legal product.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation released its results for the third quarter ending December 31, 2022. While net earnings were down 3.4% compared with Q3 of the prior year, cannabis sales through licensed cannabis retailers totaled $18.6 million, an increase of 31.9% over the prior year.
Bruce Keating, NLC President and CEO, attributed the lower earnings to impacts of the new collective agreement and commission changes to support cannabis retailers.
In September 2022, following a three-year review of the cannabis industry, the NLC approved cannabis vapes and associated products.
The first cannabis vapour products hit shelves in October, and cannabis vape products sold $1.6 million in the third quarter, amounting to 9.0% of total cannabis sales. NLC suggests this is a positive step in continuing to capture market share from illegal cannabis operators.
Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation released its third quarter financial results ending January 31, 2023, reporting a 6.6% increase in earnings for a total of $78.9 million. Total sales for the quarter were up 6.1% to $228.1 million with an increase in both cannabis and beverage alcohol sales. There was a 9.2% increase in cannabis sales to $27.6 million.
Retail customer transactions for cannabis were up 13.8% and the average dollar value of each transaction decreased by 4.0% to $38.29. The average price per gram decreased 1.1% compared to the same time last year to $6.30.
Sales of local beverage alcohol and cannabis increased 11.7% overall to $32.3 million. Nova Scotia cannabis sales again led the growth in local products with a 29.9% increase in sales to $8.5 million. Nova Scotia cannabis accounts for 31.0% of all cannabis sales, the largest we have seen to date.