Maroc Telecom Group's revenues increased to MAD 27.31 billion in the first nine months to 30 September, up 0.6 percent from MAD 27.14 billion a year earlier, thanks to increased revenues from domestic activities. The group customer base reached 67.6 million, up 10.6 percent year-on-year, driven mainly by a 15.0 percent growth in the international mobile customer base, which has expanded with the integration of Tigo Tchad on 01 July. EBITDA rose 6.9 percent to MAD 14.39 billion from MAD 13.47 billion in 2018 and the margin grow to 52.7 percent from 49.7 percent in 2018.
Adjusted EBITA was up 6.2 percent to MAD 8.99 billion from MAD 8.46 billion in 2018 and the adjusted operating margin widened by 1.7 percentage points to 32.9 percent. Capital expenditure fell by 1 percent to MAD 4.61 billion from MAD 4.65 billion in 2018 while capex excluding frequencies and licenses were down 21.4 percent and accounted for 12.0 percent of revenues.
Domestic operations generated MAD 16.31 billion in revenues, up 1.3 percent from MAD 16.09 billion in 2018, thanks to steady growth in mobile data. Moroccan EBITDA reached MAD 9.34 billion, up 9.2 percent from MAD 8.56 billion in 2018. This was mainly a result of the reduction in operating costs. The EBITDA reached 57.3 percent.
Adjusted EBITA in Morocco grew 11 percent to MAD 6.38 billion, leading to an adjusted EBITA margin of 39.1 percent. Mobile revenues were up 2.1 percent to MAD 10.72 billion. The surge in mobile data more than offset the decrease in international incoming revenues. Blended ARPU was MAD 58.7, a drop of 0.7 percent year-on-year.
The number of fixed line customers rose to 1,865. There was a 6.5 percent increase in broadband customers to 1.5 million, supported by the high-speed offers.
Maroc Telecom's international activities generated MAD 11.99 billion in revenues, a slight decline of 0.7 percent compared to MAD 12.15 billion 2018. This follows the reduction in the mobile call termination rate, particularly in Mali and Cote d'Ivoire, and the fall in international incoming revenues, as well as OTT impact. Excluding the decline in the call termination rate, revenues are up by 0.9 percent driven by the growth of data and mobile money services. EBITDA stood at MAD 5.05 billion, up 2.8 percent from MAD 4.92 billion in 2018.
The EBITDA margin was 42.1 percent, up by 0.6 percentage points thanks to the improvement of the gross margin rate coming from the termination rates cut and decrease in operating expenses, despite new sectoral taxes in some countries.
Looking at the third quarter of 2019, group revenues rose 2.9 percent or 1.0 percent on a like-for-like basis to MAD 9.47 billion and EBITDA grew 8.1 percent or 4.4 percent like-for-like to MAD 4.99 billion, with a margin of 52.7 percent. Adjusted EBIT rose 7 percent or 6.1 percent like-for-like to MAD 3.13 billion. Third quarter capital expenditure climbed 30.8 percent to MAD 1.38 billion.
In Morocco, third quarter revenue improved by 1.2 percent to MAD 5.60 billion and Q3 EBITDA improved by 6.4 percent or 4.2 percent like-for-like to 3.21 billion.
Source: https://www.telecompaper.com/news/maroc-telecom-group-9-month-ebitda-up-69-customers-up-106--1312766
