Lockdown drinking, local products drive NSLC earnings boost
The COVID-19 lockdown helped serve up a boost in business at Nova Scotia liquor stores this year.
The liquor corporation also cited cannabis sales and sales growth in all local product categories as it reported a 4.2 per cent increase in earnings compared to the previous fiscal year.
The corporation earned $247.3 million between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020. (A company’s earnings reflect the portion of revenue it keeps after expenses).
The NSLC’s total sales were up 9.7 per cent to $726 million: $655.1 million from beverage alcohol and $71 million from cannabis.
“This growth was driven by the first full year of cannabis sales, the introduction of new cannabis categories, sales growth in all local product categories and an influx in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the NSLC said in a news release Tuesday.
There was a big spike in Nova Scotia ready-to-drink sales - 101.4 per cent to $16 million - driven primarily by vodka coolers. Sales of craft beer produced in Nova Scotia were up 21.5 per cent to $20.1 million.
Nova Scotia spirit sales grew by 22.2 per cent to $9.4 million, while Nova Scotia wine sales increased by eight per cent to $12.5 million. Nova Scotia cannabis accounted for 18.3 per cent of cannabis sales at $13 million.
The NSLC reported two million cannabis transactions, with an average dollar value of $34.74. That’s a slight drop compared to the previous fiscal year when the transaction value was an average $38.29.
The average dollar value of each beverage alcohol transaction grew by 4.6 per cent to $32.08.