NB Liquor announces year-end results for 2011

NB

Sept. 28, 2011

FREDERICTON (CNB) – NB Liquor released its latest annual report today, announcing the financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011.

Total sales increased to $412.4 million, up 1.3 per cent over the previous year. NB Liquor remitted $159.6 million to the provincial government. Net earnings were $159.4 million, up one per cent from 2010. Volume for the year was 61,839,240 litres.

"NB Liquor achieved growth and encountered challenges across various markets in 2011," said Daniel Allain, president and chief executive officer, NB Liquor. "The global financial crisis, which caused a rise in food and gas prices, left consumers with less disposable income in the year and contributed to the reduction of 100,000 retail transactions compared to 2010."

Administration, warehouse and store operation expenses were managed at 11.8 per cent of sales, maintaining NB Liquor's position as one of the most efficiently run liquor retailers in Canada.

Sales to the public were $283.6 million or 68.8 per cent of total sales; sales to agents were $75.8 million, or 18.4 per cent; sales to licensees were $50.6 million, or 12.3 per cent; and sales to others, including duty free, were $2.4 million or 0.5 per cent.

Spirits

The Spirits category achieved an increase of one per cent in sales, to $92.2 million in 2011 from $91.3 million in 2010. Volumes dipped 0.6 per cent. The cocktail trend, well-developed in other parts of the country, has not yet matured in New Brunswick.

Wine

The Wine category achieved an increase of 6.1 per cent in sales, to $68.3 million in 2011 from $64.4 million in 2010. Wine from Argentina, Canada (Vintner's Quality Assurance) and the United States led the growth, while former-growth countries such as Australia and France showed notable decline.

Wine volume was up across all customer channels, with public sales up 5.9 per cent, agency sales up 5.4 per cent and licensee sales up 2.6 per cent.

Other beverages

The Other Beverages category achieved increases in sales and volume during the first two quarters of the year. But the downward trend across all channels in the last half of the year resulted in sales of $22.2 million in 2011, a decline of three per cent from 2010. Volume sales for other beverages were 3,000,690 litres in 2011 versus 3,104,403 in 2010.

Beer

The Beer category achieved sales of $229.6 million in 2011 compared with $228.6 million in 2010. The recorded volume decline of 2.9 per cent is largely attributable to the weak economy and a lack of innovation in domestic mainstream beer. As well, unlike prior years, there was no major concert event in Moncton or cultural festival on the Acadian Peninsula in 2010.

NB Liquor is a provincial Crown corporation responsible for the purchase, importation, distribution, and retail activity for all alcoholic beverages in New Brunswick. It services the public and licensees through 47 corporate retail outlets and 73 private agency store outlets.

NB Liquor’s product portfolio comprises more than 1,878 products, including wines, spirits, beers and other products, such as coolers and ready to drink products.

The corporation was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for 2011 and, for the second year in a row, it was publicly recognized for its human resource programs and benefits by being named one of the top 25 employers in Atlantic Canada for 2011.

The annual report is available here in PDF.
The annual report is available here in a ZIP.

LINK:

● NB Liquor: www.nbliquor.com

28-09-11

MEDIA CONTACT:

Marcelle Saulnier, communications, Alcool NB, 506-452-6486. marcelle.saulnier@anbl.com.