State trading companies posted strong financial results. The dividend paid to the government will be even juicier, some $3 billion.
Loto-Québec on Wednesday posted consolidated net income of $1.6 billion for its 2022-2023 fiscal year, which represents an increase of 40% compared to the result of the previous fiscal year, which had been marked in particular by periods closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Crown corporation revenue totaled $3 billion, up 35.2% from fiscal 2021-22.
Compared to the financial results for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which preceded the pandemic, Loto-Québec saw its net income and revenues increase by 18.2% and 9.4% respectively. The company pointed out that this was its best financial performance since the entry into force of the anti-tobacco law in 2006, which had the side effect of reducing traffic in gaming establishments.
The lottery sector saw its revenues total $996.1 million, which represents a decrease of 1.1% compared to the record revenues of the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, the casinos and gaming halls sector saw its revenues jump 67.6% year-on-year to reach 1.1 billion, an all-time high. The sector of gaming establishments finally recorded revenues of 922.2 million, up 64.6% year on year.
Loto-Québec’s total expenditures amounted to $875.1 million, an increase of 34.3% compared to the previous fiscal year, but a decrease of 3.3% compared to 2019-2020.
These results, which did not include any breakdown for the fourth quarter as such, will allow the Crown corporation to pay a dividend of 1.6 billion to the Quebec government.
Strong pay rise
In its annual report, Loto-Québec revealed that its president and chief executive officer, Jean-François Bergeron, had seen his total compensation reach $586,421 for the fiscal year ended March 31, which represents an increase of 46% compared to that of last year. However, since his appointment to this position dates back to May 31, 2021, this is the first time that his total compensation has covered a full financial year.
The other four highest-paid Loto-Québec executives recorded increases in overall compensation of between 34.3% and 38.3%, which is explained in particular by the return of incentive compensation, which had been suspended during the pandemic. These bonuses, which now bear the name “annual variable compensation”, are conditional on the achievement of certain objectives. For the five best-paid executives of the Crown corporation, they ranged between $70,992 and $106,994 during the most recent fiscal year.
1.4 billion for the SAQ
For its part, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) on Wednesday posted net income of $1.4 billion for its 2022-2023 fiscal year, up 5.6% from the previous fiscal year, while its sales increased by 5%.
In the fiscal year ended March 25, the state corporation saw its sales total $4.05 billion, up from $3.85 billion a year earlier. Expressed in volume, these sales increased by 0.9%, to 228.2 million litres.
Sales of the branch network and specialized centers amounted to $3.7 billion, up 5% over the previous year. The SAQ attributed this growth to sales made to restaurants and bars. Online sales of this network fell by 12.3% compared to the previous financial year, which had been marked by certain restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, to reach 93.3 million. Despite their decline, these sales remain more than twice as high as those of the pre-pandemic financial year 2019-2020, and also represent 3.1% of sales made to consumers.
As for the wholesale grocer network, sales rose 5.1% to $364 million, the SAQ said.
The amount of the SAQ’s annual net income is entirely remitted to the Minister of Finance of Quebec, its sole shareholder, in the form of a dividend.
With The duty