By Mary Lennighan, Total Telecom
20 January 2009
Moroccan incumbent reports strong customer growth at domestic mobile unit, but ARPU slips and churn grows.
Maroc Telecom this week posted a 7.2% increase in group revenues for 2008, thanks largely to a strong performance from its domestic mobile operations.
The operator, which is controlled by French media group Vivendi, posted full-year consolidated revenues of 29.52 billion dirhams (€2.65 billion), while fourth-quarter revenues came in at 7.48 billion dirhams, up 3.9%. Maroc Telecom generates the bulk of its revenues through its Moroccan operations. Sales in Morocco reached MAD27.74 billion last year, MAD18.53 billion (€1.66 billion) of which came from mobile operations. Mobile revenues grew 8.4% on the back of strong customer growth, although average revenue per user (ARPU) slipped 8.4% to MAD99.2 (€8.9). This was against a backdrop of "a highly competitive context and a more restrictive regulation regarding promotions," the telco said. Maroc Telecom's mobile customer base reached 14.46 million by 31 December, up 8.5% on-year. Churn rose to a hefty 34.9%, something the company attributed to rapid customer growth in 2007. The Moroccan incumbent admitted that its average monthly invoice in the fixed-line space fell by 1.2% last year, but revenues were up slightly at MAD9.68 billion (€869 million) thanks to Internet growth. The company's fixed-line customer base fell 2.8% to 1.299 million lines, but fixed Internet customers rose 1.3% to 482,000. In addition, the telco said it has close to 30,000 Internet Mobile 3G+ customers – the brand name of its HSDPA service – and 10,000 IPTV customers. Marco Telecom also shared details of its foreign operations. The biggest contributor to group revenues outside of Morocco was Onatel in Burkina Faso, which notched up sales of MAD1.47 billion (€132 million) last year. While the operator's customer base grew, its revenue was impacted by a drop in consumption as the cost of living rose. Onatel Mobile reported a 73.2% increase in customers to 977,000, largely thanks to the expansion of its network coverage, Maroc Telecom said. Fixed-line revenues slid, but lines grew by 18.9% to 145,000 by the end of the year. Internet customers were up 41.7% to 17,000. Mauritel in Mauritania generated MAD1.09 billion (€98 million) in revenues. The company said mobile customers grew 26.1% to 1.14 million, despite the arrival of a third player in the market, while fixed-line and Internet customers rose to 49,000 and 9,000 respectively. Gabon Telecom contributed MAD1.19 billion (€107 million) in revenues. Special promotions drove mobile customers up to 447,000, fixed-line customers numbered 33,000, and Internet customers reached 14,000 Finally, Maroc Telecom reported that its Mobisud MVNOs in France and Belgium together contributed revenues of MAD183 million (€16 million) and had a combined customer base of 163,000.
20 January 2009
Moroccan incumbent reports strong customer growth at domestic mobile unit, but ARPU slips and churn grows.
Maroc Telecom this week posted a 7.2% increase in group revenues for 2008, thanks largely to a strong performance from its domestic mobile operations.
The operator, which is controlled by French media group Vivendi, posted full-year consolidated revenues of 29.52 billion dirhams (€2.65 billion), while fourth-quarter revenues came in at 7.48 billion dirhams, up 3.9%. Maroc Telecom generates the bulk of its revenues through its Moroccan operations. Sales in Morocco reached MAD27.74 billion last year, MAD18.53 billion (€1.66 billion) of which came from mobile operations. Mobile revenues grew 8.4% on the back of strong customer growth, although average revenue per user (ARPU) slipped 8.4% to MAD99.2 (€8.9). This was against a backdrop of "a highly competitive context and a more restrictive regulation regarding promotions," the telco said. Maroc Telecom's mobile customer base reached 14.46 million by 31 December, up 8.5% on-year. Churn rose to a hefty 34.9%, something the company attributed to rapid customer growth in 2007. The Moroccan incumbent admitted that its average monthly invoice in the fixed-line space fell by 1.2% last year, but revenues were up slightly at MAD9.68 billion (€869 million) thanks to Internet growth. The company's fixed-line customer base fell 2.8% to 1.299 million lines, but fixed Internet customers rose 1.3% to 482,000. In addition, the telco said it has close to 30,000 Internet Mobile 3G+ customers – the brand name of its HSDPA service – and 10,000 IPTV customers. Marco Telecom also shared details of its foreign operations. The biggest contributor to group revenues outside of Morocco was Onatel in Burkina Faso, which notched up sales of MAD1.47 billion (€132 million) last year. While the operator's customer base grew, its revenue was impacted by a drop in consumption as the cost of living rose. Onatel Mobile reported a 73.2% increase in customers to 977,000, largely thanks to the expansion of its network coverage, Maroc Telecom said. Fixed-line revenues slid, but lines grew by 18.9% to 145,000 by the end of the year. Internet customers were up 41.7% to 17,000. Mauritel in Mauritania generated MAD1.09 billion (€98 million) in revenues. The company said mobile customers grew 26.1% to 1.14 million, despite the arrival of a third player in the market, while fixed-line and Internet customers rose to 49,000 and 9,000 respectively. Gabon Telecom contributed MAD1.19 billion (€107 million) in revenues. Special promotions drove mobile customers up to 447,000, fixed-line customers numbered 33,000, and Internet customers reached 14,000 Finally, Maroc Telecom reported that its Mobisud MVNOs in France and Belgium together contributed revenues of MAD183 million (€16 million) and had a combined customer base of 163,000.
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