(Montreal) The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) reported Monday a decline in its net profit for the second quarter of the 2023-2024 financial year compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

The state-owned company forecasts that the slowdown in growth observed over the last two quarters could continue given the economic context.

Net income declined in the quarter ending September 9, from 14.1 million to 336.3 million, while sales fell 0.6% to 945.7 million, due to a decline in the network of wholesale grocers.

The SAQ notes that it acts as a wholesaler to the network of grocery stores and convenience stores in Quebec. As such, the sales of this network do not necessarily reflect the sales made by these establishments to consumers.

The SAQ also specifies that sales from the network of its branches and specialized centers reached 878.1 million, up 0.2%. Online sales grew 4.5% and accounted for 2.6% of consumer sales.

The average basket of purchases made by consumers in branches and specialized centers increased from $64.51 to $62.42, a drop of 3.2% that the SAQ explains by more frequent visits by consumers to branches, evidenced by ridership growth of 3.2%.

As for sales of Quebec products in the second quarter, they totaled 147.8 million and represented 16.8% of sales made to the network of branches and specialized centers.