Telecompaper
Maroc Telecom’s operations in Morocco generated revenues of MAD 21.03 billion in 2015, slightly down by 0.5 percent, thanks to fixed-line and internet business which continued to surge (+8.6% year-on-year) offsetting the decline in the Mobile segment (-6.2% year-on-year) in a still-fiercely competitive environment.
EBITDA was MAD 11.14 billion, down 3.8 percent from 2014. This change reflects the increase in the cost of interconnection to other operators and in operating costs which rose 2.5 percent. The EBITDA margin remained high at 53.0 percent, down by 1.8 point. Earnings from operations were MAD 7.39 billion, down 4.5 percent due to the decline in EBITDA. Cash flow from operations in Morocco was down 25 percent at MAD 6.58 billion following the payment of MAD 926 million for the 4G license and the development of the associated spectrum. Excluding these items, cash flow from operations (CFFO) in Morocco was down 14.6 percent due to the decline in EBITDA and the 15 percent increase in capital investment in networks, mainly 4G.
At end December, the mobile customer base reached 18.3 million, up 0.4 percent year-on-year. The 10.2 percent growth in postpaid customers, driven by the enhancement of call-time and data in packages, more than offset the 0.5 percent decline in prepaid customer numbers. The mobile internet customer base continued its strong growth and surged by 36 percent year-on-year, driven by customer appetite for 3G and 4G Data services. Blended ARPU for 2015 was MAD 62.5, down 4.7 percent from 2014, the increase in voice and data usage not offsetting the fall in prices.
The fixed-line customer base was nearly 1.6 million lines, up 6.8 percent and driven by the Residential segment which increased its customer numbers by 10 percent. The ADSL customer base increased by 15 percent to 1.1 million subscribers, thanks to the appetite for Double play packages and despite the new offers introduced onto the market by competitors.
The surge in fixed-line and internet business continued with revenues rising to MAD 8.73 billion, up 8.6 percent from 2014, mainly due to growth in fixed-line, broadband and IP VPN activities which contributed to the 10 percent increase in fixed-line data revenues.
