$330 Million Maroc Telecom Profits in Half a Year

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

((Arab Sea)) Follow-ups: Maroc Telecom, the largest telecommunications operator in Morocco, announced on Thursday a 0.5 percent increase in its first-half profits to 2.59 billion dirhams ($330 million), despite a decrease in revenues. The company said that consolidated revenues for the period from January to June decreased by 1.2 percent year-on-year to 18 billion dirhams. Revenues in its main market in Morocco decreased by 3.4 percent, but increased by 1.2 percent in its subsidiaries in Africa, known as Moov Africa. In addition to Morocco, the company operates subsidiaries in Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Togo. Maroc Telecom said that its customer base grew by 2.3 percent to more than 80 million customers, as it increased its investments in mobile internet, fixed internet, and mobile payment services in its subsidiaries in Africa. Last March, Maroc Telecom cooperated with its competitor Inwi to launch the fifth generation (5G) network in Morocco, with a joint investment of 4.4 billion dirhams over the next three years. Etisalat Emirates controls 53 percent of the shares of Maroc Telecom, which is also listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, while the Moroccan state owns 22 percent of its remaining shares.