Dubai's Salik reports Dh822-million net profit in 9 months; revenue from fines hits Dh174.8 million

Dubai's toll operator Salik Company PJSC has reported a profit of Dh822 million in the past nine months of the year. The company reported the highest third-quarter EBITDA in history. Generating Dh376.7 million, it witnessed a 14 per cent YoY increase from Dh330.4 million in Q3 2023.

In the nine-month 2024 period, Salik reported net profit before taxes of Dh903.3 million, marking a strong 12.5 per cent increase year-on-year, with third quarter profit before tax increasing 19.6 per cent year-on-year to Dh304.7 million.

Ibrahim Sultan Al Haddad, Chief Executive Officer of Salik, commented: “Our results for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2024 were bolstered by strong performance in the third quarter, with revenue-generating trips increasing 5.7 per cent year-on-year, along with very robust profitability.

"With our inaugural parking solution at Dubai Mall now in full swing, and the operation of the two new toll gates starting on November 24 2024, we remain encouraged by positive trends in Dubai’s economy, which are supportive of our own growth."

Revenue is up by 6.2 per cent year-on-year, with significant contributions from toll usage, fines and tag activation fees.

The company saw 355.6 million trips in the first nine months of 2024, posting a 5.1 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue-generating trips. Revenue-generating trips in the third quarter were up 5.7 per cent year-on-year to Dh468.4 million – making it the highest Q3 performance for revenue-generating trips the company has ever had.

The toll operator said in a statement that revenue from toll usage fees increased by 5.1 per cent during the nine-month period.

Revenue from toll gates have also seen strong growth with Jebel Ali seeing a double-digit rise (+c.16%), and other gates growing in the high-single digit range, including Airport Tunnel (+c.9%) and Al Safa (+c.7%).

From fines, the revenue has risen in the third quarter by 7.9 per cent to Dh58.7 million. In the nine-month period, revenue from fines has increased 7.6 per cent year-on-year to Dh174.8 million.

Net violations during the third quarter represented 0.4 per cent of net toll traffic, with revenue from fines contributing 10.7 per cent to total revenue in the nine-month period.

Tag activation fees grew strongly in the nine-month period, contributing 1.8 per cent of total revenues in the nine-month period. Revenue from tag activation fees increased 23.3 per cent year-on-year to Dh30.1 million. In the third quarter, it was up 11.3 per cent year-on-year to Dh10.3 million.

"On this basis, we are pleased to reiterate our recently upgraded guidance for FY24, expecting revenue growth to increase by 7-8 per cent compared to FY23, particularly in view of Q4 typically being a seasonally stronger quarter for Salik. We also expect this good growth momentum to continue into next year, with revenue-generating trips expected to increase in the range of 24-25 per cent in FY25, including the contribution from the two new gates,” Al Haddad also said.

In the first full quarter performance of the barrier-free parking solution, Salik PJSC has reported strong revenue contribution of Dh2.57 million in the three months since the launch in July 2024.

The barrier-free parking system processed a total of 3.8 million transactions in this period.

The two new Salik gates — Business Bay gate and Al Safa South gate — will be operational on Sunday, November 24.

The two new toll gates, located at Business Bay Crossing on Al Khail Road, and Al Safa South on Sheikh Zayed Road between Al Meydan Street and Umm Al Sheif Street, will increase the number of Salik gates in Dubai from eight to 10.

Business Bay is a key artery as a lot of motorists from Sharjah, Al Nahda, Al Qusais use this bridge to access Al Khail Road, which is one of the busiest roads in the emirate.