Salik toll operator recorded a net profit of AED 529M ($144M) for H2 2022 as road traffic in Dubai returned to pre-pandemic levels. The company’s board of directors has proposed to distribute 100% of the net profit after deducting the statutory reserve of AED 37.5M, which amounts to AED 491.4M or 6.5521 fils per share, according to a regulatory filing on DFM on Tuesday.
Salik had previously reported a full-year profit of AED 1.326B ($361M) for 2022, down from AED 1.38B in the previous year. Salik expects a 5% to 6% increase in revenue-generating trips through its eight toll gates and an EBITDA margin of 63% to 64% for 2023, as per its latest statement.
Salik CEO, Ibrahim Sultan Al Hadda, credited the strong increase in toll road usage and the recovery of traffic levels to pre-pandemic levels during Q4 2022 as key drivers of the company’s success. Salik enjoyed robust profitability in 2022 with an EBITDA margin of 67.5% for H2 2022. Salik’s total number of trips made through its eight toll gates increased by approximately 12% YoY to 539 million trips in 2022, up from 481 million trips in the previous year.
This growth was due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and the positive impact of Expo 2020 in Q1 of the year. The number of revenue-generating trips also increased by around 13% to approximately 413 million trips from 367 million in 2021, according to the company.
