Moroccos’s largest telecom operator, Itissalat Al-Maghrib, posted a lower net income at the end of the first nine-month period of its 2021 financial year after the its consolidated turnover decreased marginally by 2.6 percent despite an increase in its subscriber base.
Formerly Maroc Telecom, Itissalat Al-Maghrib is the main telecommunications company in Morocco and the country’s largest telecom services provider, with more than 73 million customers on its platform, up by 4.2 percent from last year.
Led by Moroccan businessman Abdeslam Ahizoune, the telecom group employs around 11,178 employees with eight regional delegations and 220 offices present across Morocco.
Figures contained in the group’s financial report revealed that net income decreased by five percent in the nine-month period concerned, from MAD4.53 billion ($499 million) in 2020 to MAD4.3 billion ($473.6 million) as a result of reduced revenue and increased operating expenses that pressured profit margins and earnings.
The group’s profit margin in the period dropped by 40-basis percentage points as a faster growth in operating expenses pressured profit below the $475-million mark during the period.
In Q3 2021, the Moroccan telecom operator was able to maintain its performance despite a restrictive health environment, providing its subsidiaries with sufficient drive to post resilient results and strengthening its international development strategy.
The management revealed that the telecom services operator will continue to capitalize on its network quality, which it continues to strengthen to support customer data use.
As of press time, Oct. 28, shares in the Morocco-based group were trading at MAD143.30 ($15.78) per share, 38-basis points lower than its opening price this morning.
