Maroc Telecom, Morocco’s leading telecommunications provider, has posted a decline in domestic profits for the first half of 2024, with revenue slipping by 1.6% year-on-year by the end of June.
Despite the subdued performance in its home market, the company achieved a modest overall revenue increase of 0.9%, reaching MAD 18.2 billion ($1.8 billion), propelled by growth from its Moov Africa subsidiaries across the continent.
The company’s profit for the first half of 2024 totaled MAD 9.5 billion ($963 million), down from MAD 9.6 billion ($973 million) recorded in the same period last year.
While Maroc Telecom’s domestic segment struggles, its African operations continue to show resilience. Revenue from Moov Africa saw a 3.7% increase, totaling MAD 9.326 billion ($946 million) in the first six months of the year.
Since 2019, Maroc Telecom’s revenue trajectory has been downward, declining from approximately MAD 57 billion ($5.4 billion) in Q1 2019 to MAD 45 billion ($4.2 billion) by the end of 2020.
Although there was a slight recovery in 2023 with a 2.9% uptick, the company has faced ongoing challenges in the Moroccan market due to intensified competition, according to BMCE Capital Global Research, a market research firm.
The company’s struggles are further compounded by regulatory issues. Maroc Telecom recently faced a substantial fine of MAD 3.3 billion ($344 million) for anti-competitive practices.
The telecommunications regulator found that the company had leveraged its market dominance to impede competitors’ access to network unbundling and the fixed-line market since 2013, as reported by Reuters.