The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation says it saw a 4.2 per cent increase in earnings this past year to $247.3 million.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the NSLC says the growth was driven by the first full year of cannabis sales, sales growth in all local product categories, and an increase in sales due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The corporation says there were two million cannabis transactions the fiscal year of April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, with an average dollar value of $34.74.
Total sales were up 9.7 per cent to $726 million with $655.1 million in beverage alcohol sales and $71 million in recreational cannabis sales.
According to the corporation, Nova Scotia ready-to-drink products experienced an extremely strong year, with sales increasing by 101.4 per cent to $16 million.
“This strong growth was driven primarily by vodka coolers,” NSLC said.
From March 15, the day the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in Nova Scotia, to March 31, the end of the fiscal year, there was a 22 per cent increase in sales when compared to the previous year.
-With files from The Canadian Press