NB Liquor sales continue to fall flat

NB Liquor sales are continuing to fall below expectatations due to the economic uncertainty in the province, according to the corporations chief executive officer.

NB Liquor released its third quarter financial results on Monday that showed the Crown-owned liquor corporation earned $44.5 million, or an increase of $300,000, compared to the same time last year.

While the corporation is continuing to make money, Daniel Allain, the president and chief executive officer of NB Liquor, said overall sales continue to be in decline.

Allain said sales did pick up before Christmas but it couldnt account for the overall drop off.

"Although holiday season traffic was lower than expected and only began to pick up one week before Christmas, I am pleased to report our net income results improved year-over-year," Allain said in a statement.

"However, economic uncertainty continued to account for weak volumes in the quarter, which were responsible for an overall decline in sales."

The agency reported that sales of spirits were $27.7 million, which was down 3.2 per cent. Wine sales accounted for $21.2 million, which was a drop of 1.8 per cent.

Beer sales continue to be the dominant sales item for NB Liquor, but the agency's report shows even those sales continued to decline.

Beer accounted for $50.7 million volume in sales, which was down 9.8 per cent in the third quarter and is down seven per cent for the year, according to the agency.