Dubai Taxi Company Revenue Grow 14% in First Six Months
- Business Automobiles Regional
Global Business Magazine- 4 minutes read
With strong growth across all its segments, Dubai Taxi Company, a leading provider of comprehensive mobility solutions in Dubai, said that its revenue grew by 14% y-o-y in the first six months of this year to $296.8 million.
Announcing the financial results for H1-2024, the company said that its performance was underpinned by the ongoing execution of its growth strategy including increasing its taxi fleet and entering into new strategic partnerships, to consolidate its market-leading position.
DTC’s core taxi segment achieved solid growth during the period, with revenue up 12% year-on-year to $255.65 million, driven by increased trips and trip lengths as the Company expanded its operating fleet by 294 vehicles y-o-y following the successful award of new taxi licences in Q1 of 2024.
The taxi segment also benefited from higher tariffs, as determined by the Road and Transport Authority (RTA), as well as an increase in the proportion of dedicated airport taxis, where DTC has exclusive rights to operate and charges a higher tariff.
The limousine segment saw revenue increase 6% year-on-year to $16.8 million in H1 of 2024, also supported by fleet expansion and higher tariffs. DTC’s taxis and limousines completed 23 million trips during the period, an increase of 4% year-on-year.
The bus segment achieved stellar growth with revenue increasing by 26% year-on-year to $19.6 million, driven by the award of new service contracts and increased fleet size. The company’s bike segment also continued to grow exponentially, with revenue increasing almost threefold year-on-year, supported by overall market expansion and the formation of new partnerships.
DTC’s strong revenue performance resulted in a 27% y-o-y increase in EBITDA to $84.21 million, at an attractive margin of 28%, as DTC continues to focus on cost optimisation through increased asset utilisation and the adoption of fuel-efficient vehicles in line with its sustainability commitments.
The profits in the first six months, which was impacted by the introduction of corporate tax in the country as well as finance costs, was up 1% y-o-y to $51.02 million. Excluding the tax impact, net profit increased 11%.
Further, excluding interest cost related to the $272 million, loan which was drawn in September 2023, net profit increased 27% on a comparable basis. Free cash flow for the period was $48.60 million, a 65% increase compared to H1 of 2023.
DTC maintained a healthy balance sheet, with a highly attractive net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.1x and a cash balance of $101.82 million, including Wakala deposits, as of June 2024.
Outlook
DTC has a positive outlook across all its business segments, enabled by Dubai’s strong economic outlook and a forecasted resident population Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.8% between 2023 and 2040, as well as a tourist CAGR of 20.5% between 2023 and 2025.
During the period, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) reinforced its position as the preferred hub for wealth and asset management (WAM) companies and hedge funds with over 370 WAM firms, highlighting the emirate’s growing stature as a preeminent global business hub, and Dubai International Airport (DXB) recorded its busiest quarter in history, affirming its role as a global aviation hub.
