How the LCBO makes money for the Ontario government
CBC
The LCBO brings in about $2.5 billion for the Ontario government each year. Exactly how it earns that money is not always transparent to the public.
LCBO retail outlets — the 680 stores currently shut by strike — account for nearly 80 per cent of the Crown corporation's gross revenue, according to its most recent annual report.
The rest comes primarily from LCBO's role as a distributor to bars, restaurants and supermarkets.
What's unclear is how Premier Doug Ford's government's looming plan to allow all 8,000-plus convenience stores and grocery stories in the province to sell beer, wine, and ready-to-drink cocktails will affect the LCBO's bottom line.
Ford insists that the reforms will not hurt provincial coffers. However, industry sources and an LCBO internal document obtained by CBC News suggest the changes will take hundreds of millions of dollars away from the public purse each year.
What follows is a breakdown of how the LCBO currently turns a profit, and how things are expected to change with the Ford government's reforms. All figures come from the LCBO's annual report for the 2023 fiscal year, unless otherwise cited.
The LCBO's gross revenues totalled $7.41 billion in 2023.
The vast bulk of that, $5.87 billion, came through the LCBO's own retail outlets, including its online direct-to-consumer sales.
The other most significant contributors are:
As for the LCBO's net income (or profit), subtract the following figures from the $7.41 billion in total sales:
That left the LCBO with a net income of $2.46 billion, all of which flowed to the provincial government.
The LCBO provides figures breaking down how much of its sales come from each type of product: spirits (such as whisky and vodka), wine, beer (including cider) and ready-to-drink products, such as pre-mixed cocktails and hard seltzers.
The figures in the pie chart are gross sales. When it comes to margins (gross sales minus product costs, before operating expenses) certain product lines provide the LCBO a more lucrative return than others:
The LCBO doesn't make public any specifics breaking down how much of its net income comes from each sales channel.
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