Salik expects revenue-generating trips through its toll gates to rise by up to 6% in 2023

The number of vehicles registered with the toll operator increased 7% annually to 3.7 million in 2022

Al Barsha toll gate in Dubai. Salik reported a 12 per cent jump in its 2022 revenue. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Dubai toll operator Salik expects the number of revenue-generating trips through its toll gates to increase by about 5 per cent to 6 per cent in 2023, driven by the resurgence of the UAE economy after the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2022, the total number of trips made through Salik’s toll gates rose by 12 per cent annually to 539 million on the continued recovery from the coronavirus-induced slowdown as restrictions were fully lifted in Dubai, as well as by the positive growth resulting from Expo 2020 Dubai in the first quarter of the year.

Traffic levels through its eight toll gates “broadly” recovered to pre-pandemic levels during the fourth quarter of 2022, the company said in a statement on Tuesday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.

Trips through the toll gates are the largest revenue driver for Salik and they constituted about 87 per cent of its total revenue in 2022, the company told The National separately.

“Salik’s positive performance in 2022 is a reflection of … Dubai’s unwavering economic resilience amid global turbulence and the ongoing efforts to attract a diverse and growing population,” said Salik chairman Mattar Al Tayer.

The UAE's economy has rebounded strongly from the coronavirus-induced slowdown on the back of higher oil prices and government initiatives to support businesses and the economy.

The Arab world's second-largest economy is estimated to have grown by 7.6 per cent last year — the highest in 11 years — after expanding by 3.9 per cent in 2021, according to the UAE Central Bank.

The country's gross domestic product is projected to expand 3.9 per cent in 2023, with non-oil sector growth estimated at 4.2 per cent, according to the Central Bank.

Salik reported about a 12 per cent jump in its 2022 full-year revenue to Dh1.89 billion ($514 million), while fourth-quarter revenue rose 2 per cent to Dh502 million.

The number of vehicles registered with the toll operator increased 7 per cent annually to 3.7 million in 2022.

Salik’s board proposed to distribute 100 per cent of the net profit recorded in the second half of 2022 as dividends to shareholders after deducting a one-time statutory reserve of Dh37.5 million, the company said.

Salik raised Dh3.73 billion in September from its initial public offering, which was more than 49 times oversubscribed across all tranches, with total gross demand at Dh184.2 billion.

The Dubai government sold more than 1.867 billion shares in the company, or 24.9 per cent, at Dh2 a share. The government retained a 75.1 per cent stake after the IPO.