Dubai's Parkin posts record profit as fines outpace tickets for first time

Dubai's public parking operator Parkin reported a 27 per cent annual jump in third-quarter profit, with income from fines and seasonal permits outpacing parking fees for the first time.

Net profit after tax was at Dh199.2 million ($54.2 million), as revenue grew 21 per cent year-on-year to a record Dh415.2 million, the company said in a filing to the Dubai Financial Market.

Notably, its enforcement category - which groups fines and seasonal parking passes - contributed Dh136.4 million, surpassing parking fees that added Dh127.8 million, which was a 5 per cent annual drop.

Earlier this year, Parkin brought on micro cameras on kerbsides to catch motorists who shun tickets. Cars with automatic cameras to scan entire streets have been in place for several years.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation - a key metric for profitability - for the three-month period jumped 28 per cent to a record Dh255 million.

For the third quarter, Parkin sold a record 110,600 seasonal passes, which was a 37 per cent annual jump, while total fines issued jumped 34 per cent to about 916,100.

For the first nine months of 2026, Parkin's profit grew by a quarter to Dh550.6 million, as revenue through September climbed 24 per cent to more than Dh1.16 billion. Ebitda for the period also grew by 24 per cent to Dh703.4 million.

During the period, seasonal permits grew 58 per cent to about 308,600, while fines rose 24 per cent to more than 2.36 million.

The company added about 53,500 parking spaces over the past 12 months to lift its total to a record 272,500, it said.

Parkin's results demonstrate "the strength of our diversified business, with growth across developer parking, seasonal cards and our other revenue streams more than offsetting softer public parking revenues during the quarter", chief executive Mohamed Al Ali said in a statement.

"We continued to execute our growth strategy with discipline," he added.

Parkin has been playing a major role in Dubai's strategy of expanding its paid public parking network to curb illegal parking and better manage available spaces.

Last week, paid parking was extended to certain areas of the emirate's Jebel Ali Industrial area and Al Furjan. Last month, Parkin partnered with Q Mobility to manage smart parking facilities across Etihad Rail’s passenger station network.