Maroc Telecom (IAM) has published its financial results for the three months ended 31 March 2019, reporting a marginal 0.5% decrease in revenues from MAD8.994 billion (USD2.74 billion) to MAD8.948 billion, attributed to a 4.6% drop in sales generated by the group’s international operations, which was partly offset by a 2.4% increase in revenues in its domestic market. The telco’s three-month EBITDA increased by 3.7% year-on-year to MAD4.649 billion, on the back of a 9.2% growth in pre-tax earnings from domestic operations, and a 5.2% decrease in its subsidiaries’ EBITDA. IAM’s consolidated earnings from operations reached MAD2.904 billion in 1Q19, a 1.5% increase y-o-y, while the group’s share of net income amounted to MAD1.583 billion, up by 0.1% when compared to 1Q18. Consistent with the yearly forecast, CAPEX excluding frequencies and licences amounted to MAD860 million at the end of March 2019, down by 42.0% y-o-y.
In operational terms, the group reported annualised growth of 4.8% for its consolidated customer base, with the total reaching 62 million at end-March 2019. In Morocco, wireless subscribers increased by 2.8% y-o-y to reach 19.298 million, up from 18.764 million in 1Q18; the telco’s 3G/4G user base passed 10.961 million, while broadband customers increased by 8.2% y-o-y to 1.511 million. In Niger, wireless accesses increased by 20.1% to 2.679 million, while Togo saw a sizeable 15.6% y-o-y rise in mobile subscribers to 3.547 million at 31 March. Furthermore, mobile subscriber growth was also reported in Cote d’Ivoire (8.734 million, up 11.6%), Mauritania (2.400 million, 9.7%), Burkina Faso (7.777 million, 5.6%) and Gabon (1.559 million, 3.3%), while Mali reported an annual decline of 6.6% to 7.270 million subscribers.