Dubai's Parkin announces new rates starting April: Dh6/hour in public parking zones

Dubai:  Did you forget to pay for the parking? Or do the top up for an extra hour of parking?

A lot of vehicle users in Dubai seemed to have done so, with Parkin recording a 37% increase in revenues from fine during 2024, generating Dh249.1 million. It was Dh181.3 million in 2023.

Not just that, during October to end December 2024, there was a staggering 72% spike in fines issued, totaling Dh77 million from Dh44.8 million in Q4-2023.

A majority of these fines were issued in the public parking category, with total public parking fines up 51% in Q4 to 424,000 (Q4 2023: 281,000).

Parkin also confirmed that the new variable rates will go into effect early April.

From 8am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm, premium parking spots will be charged at Dh6 per hour in all public parking zones. (The daily tariff for premium parking will be Dh40 in Zone B and Dh30 in Zone D.)

"Parkin’s management team is currently engaged in advanced discussions with RTA to confirm and finalise outstanding points regarding the variable pricing tariff, which is set to be introduced from early April 2025," said the statement.

Parkin’s overall 2024 numbers saw revenues of Dh925.2 million from Dh780 million. The net profit pulled its weight with a 7% growth to Dh423.5 million from Dh394.1 million.

“Parkin operates at the centre of Dubai’s transport ecosystem with a systemic role as a mobility enabler,” said Ahmed Bahrozyan, Chairman of Parkin.

“Throughout 2024, our quarterly results have demonstrated consistent profitable growth. With our city’s accelerating economic growth, population expansion and record tourism in 2024, I am confident in Parkin’s future outlook and our ability to deliver another strong performance in 2025.”

Parkin will also soon distributing a Dh280.867 million (Dh0.09362 per share), for H2-2024.

When it comes to possibilities, Parkin is all set for a blockbuster 2025.

Early April, the company will introduce variable rates in line with peak and off-peak hour usage. Recently, it also rolled out higher charges at locations where high-profile events or conferences are being held. The tariff for a one-hour parking would then Dh25.

For 2025, Parkin expects its public parking operations to generate revenues of between Dh520 million to Dh550 million (In 2024, it was Dh404.6 million).

Its sister company Salik too rolled out variable rates depending on peak/off-peak usage of its toll-gates.

The new tariff rates have created a new growth dimension for these RTA entities, according to market analysts. (Parkin and Salik share prices continue to outperform its DFM peers.)

According to Mohamed Al Ali, CEO of Parkin, "(The 2024) EBITDA increased by 42% during the (fourth) quarter, compared to the prior year, with a margin of 60%, reflecting Parkin’s operational leverage, robust top-line growth and the ongoing benefits of efficiency initiatives.

"Providing essential infrastructure that supports Dubai’s ambitious growth plans, the company is well-positioned to capture new opportunities in 2025 as we continue to shape the future of our industry and focus on delivering attractive, sustainable value to shareholders.”

Parkin will stick to the ‘capex-lite model’ that has served it well, according to the CEO, whereby others – whether that’s RTA or third-party entities – will create the new parking spaces. And Parkin comes in amd does its core service of operating that asset.  

"We have a 50-year expansion plan with RTA, and this year we could increase the public parking around 3%.

As always, there remains the live possibility of geographic expansion of those services. “We are the largest public parking operator and we can leverage on that to look at neighboring cities or even countries to expand our platform,” said Al Ali.