ANBL reports a 0.8% drop in second-quarter wine sales

Wine sales at New Brunswick’s provincial liquor retailer fell 0.8% in the second quarter, reversing the slight growth recorded in the previous quarter and marking a change in direction for one of the province’s main alcohol categories.

Alcool NB Liquor, or ANBL, said on Wednesday, October 28, that wine revenue declined by C$300,000 in the 13 weeks from June 29 to September 27, compared with the same 13-week period from June 30 to September 28, 2025. The figures were released as part of the Crown corporation’s unaudited second-quarter results.

The decline followed a 0.4% year-over-year increase in wine sales in the prior quarter. That shift from growth to contraction represents a deterioration of 1.2 percentage points. Based on the rounded dollar changes published by the company for the two most recent quarters, wine sales were down by about C$200,000 on a combined basis from the same periods a year earlier.

The results apply only to ANBL’s operations in New Brunswick and do not measure the wider Canadian wine market. ANBL is the provincial Crown corporation responsible for the purchase, importation, distribution and retail sale of alcoholic beverages in the province. As of March 29, it operated 38 corporate stores and 93 private agency stores.

The company did not provide a quantified change in wine volume in its financial release, and the sales figures were reported in nominal terms. ANBL described the quarter’s results as draft and unaudited.

Wine was not the only category to weaken. ANBL said spirit sales fell 1.0%, also down C$300,000, while beer sales dropped 2.0%, a decline of C$1.3 million. Coolers and cider were the only major category to post growth, rising 0.5%, or C$100,000.

Across all products, second-quarter sales totaled C$156 million, down 1.1% from the same quarter a year earlier. Net income fell 12.5% to C$50 million from C$57.2 million.

In its statement, ANBL linked the softer results to changing consumer behavior and broader financial pressure on households. Lori Stickles, the company’s president and chief executive, said consumption habits are shifting and that customers are facing economic uncertainty. She said ANBL is adjusting its portfolio while continuing to invest in a multiyear modernization project that is scheduled to go live in January 2027.

The company also said broader drinking patterns in the quarter continued to show moderation in core alcohol categories, including beer, spirits and wine, while ready-to-drink products kept gaining ground. ANBL said coolers and ciders benefited from demand for convenient formats, including seltzers, sodas and cocktails. It also said consumer interest in premium products remained visible, including stronger performance from wines sourced from Australia, France and Spain.

Those category comments suggest that the drop in wine revenue did not affect all segments equally. Even so, the headline result for wine was a clear retreat from the previous quarter’s modest gain and a sign that the pressure visible across ANBL’s business also reached a category that had still been growing earlier in the fiscal year.

ANBL follows a 52-week retail accounting calendar, with its fiscal year ending on the Sunday closest to March 31. The current fiscal year is a 52-week year. The corporation said more detailed second-quarter information was available through its quarterly financial materials.