Maroc Telecom first-half profit up 2.3pc boosted by African markets

Maroc Telecom, Morocco’s largest telecoms operator, reported on Wednesday a 2.3pc rise in first-half profit to a higher than targeted 2.9 billion dirhams ($300 million), citing efficient cost containment.

Consolidated revenue rose 4.7pc to 18.39 billion dirhams thanks to its African subsidiaries, where mobile data and mobile money services are growing faster than in Morocco, the company said in a statement.

Maroc Telecom has 75 million customers and operations in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, Togo and the Central African Republic.

The company, which is listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris, is 53pc controlled by the UAE’s Etisalat, with the Moroccan state owning 22pc.