Maroc Telecom Ahead of FT in Benin Telecom Bid

Morocco’s Maroc Telecom, controlled by French group Vivendi, is thought to be in a good position to bid for state-owned Benin Telecoms, according to African-bulletin.com, quoting French newspaper La Lettre Mediterrannee, following previous reports that France Telecom (FT) was in pole position for the privatisation of Benin’s incumbent telco.

The schedule for privatising the PSTN and broadband operator is unclear however, with observers saying that the issue could be clouded by upcoming presidential elections next spring, whilst Benin Telecoms’ workers’ union has warned that it will ‘react strongly’ to inevitable staff restructuring (‘downsizing’) plans resulting from a sale to the private sector.

Maroc Telecom has expanded across several African nations. In neighbouring Mauritania, it acquired 51% of Mauritel in 2001, and it acquired majority control of Burkina Faso’s Onatel in 2006 and Gabon Telecom the following year.

In 2009, Maroc Telecom signed an agreement with the Malian government to become the major stakeholder of Sotelma. The group is also eyeing other markets outside the traditional French speaking African countries which have strong political ties with Morocco.

Maroc Telecom Completes Fibre Link to Western Sahara

Moroccan communications group Maroc Telecom has reached 60% completion in the first phase of a plan to roll out a fibre-optic backbone network linking Morocco with West African countries, reports Dow Jones Newswires quoting Middle Eastern daily Asharq Al Awsat.

Phase one of the network will link the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott, to El Ouyoun in Western Sahara, revealed Maroc Telecom's president Abdulsalam Ahizoune, whilst the finished route will link Mauritania, Gabon, Mali and Burkina Faso, he said.

Maroc Telecom Profits Down 1%, Revenues Up 2.8%

Moroccan full-service telco Maroc Telecom, majority-owned by France’s Vivendi, has posted a 1% year-on-year fall in 2009 net income to MAD9.43 billion (USD1.15 billion) on consolidated revenues that climbed by 2.8% to MAD30.34 billion, as it increased spending, especially in the mobile segment. Group EBITDA for the year rose by 2.9% to MAD18.15 billion.


Operations in Morocco generated net revenues of MAD25.76 billion in 2009, up 0.1% versus 2008, EBITDA of MAD16.16 billion, down 1.5%, and earnings from operations of MAD13.08 billion, down 3.5% year-on-year, chiefly due to the impact of promotional initiatives deployed to stimulate the market and maintain its leading position. Maroc Telecom’s domestic mobile subscriber base grew by 5.6% in twelve months to 15.27 million at end-December 2009, whilst it had 1.234 million Moroccan fixed lines in service at year-end, down 5% year-on-year, due mainly to shrinkage in the residential customer base (down 8.8%) resulting from mobile substitution. At end-December the telco had 469,000 ADSL subscribers, down 1.7% compared to the same date in 2008.

However, it also signed up 174,000 3G/3.5G mobile broadband customers on its W-CDMA/HSPA-based cellular network by year-end, up from less than 30,000 a year earlier.

Group-wide, the operator had a total of 21.7 million customers at end-2009, up 12.6% year on year, reflecting the inclusion of Malian operator SOTELMA, the resurgence in domestic mobile growth and continued year-on-year expansion of other subsidiaries’ mobile customer bases in Gabon, Mauritania and Burkina Faso. A statement from the company read: ‘Based on current market conditions, and barring any unforeseen disruptions to the group's operations, Maroc Telecom will achieve moderate growth in revenues in 2010, driven mainly by growth of subsidiaries.’

Vivendi in Need for Expansion As Maroc Telecom Growth Stalls

For a few days last month Maroc Telecom's parent company Vivendi looked like it might pull off one of the most audacious attempts yet to arrest control of one of the Middle East & Africa's largest mobile operations from the now well-entrenched players.

However, Zain, whose Celtel unit was the subject of the interest, could not agree on price with the French company and the chance of a deal - however unlikely most commentators, including your author, thought that to be - now looks to be dead and gone.

If a transaction had gone ahead it would most likely have had a significant effect on Maroc Telecom's place in the Vivendi group, with the Moroccan incumbent slotting in as part of a much larger overall portfolio.

As it is, the company remains Vivendi's sole venture in the emerging markets, and its sole vehicle for growth in Africa. In addition to its home operation and its long-standing subsidiary in Mauritania, Maroc Telecom has expanded into Burkina Faso and Gabon by purchasing the incumbents in these markets, and this year has followed those deals with the agreement to purchase a majority stake in Sotelma, the incumbent telco in Mali. The talks with Zain indicate, however, that management in France is not entirely content with this slow piece-wise expansion strategy.

The mobile business, which accounts for almost two-thirds of Maroc Telecom's MAD14.6bn strong top line, grew by 25.9% in connection terms in the year to 30th June 2008, but by just 5.9% in the most recent 12 months. Strong performances by the regional operators (+26% in Gabon, +30% in Mauritania, +74% in Burkina Faso) have failed to offset an almost complete arrest of growth in Morocco which grew by just 0.5% in the year. With 14.29m customers, the Moroccan business still accounts for 81% of the overall mobile base of 17.55m, whilst its fixed operation contributes 84% of the 1.5m strong landline total.

In revenue terms, the home business is even more dominant with 86% of the mobile turnover and 85% of the fixed - and it is convincingly the most profitable in both departments. In this light it is perhaps no wonder that Maroc Telecom's acquisition in Mali - involving around 1m customers - has failed to satisfy the appetites of the French owners. The question, if Celtel is off the menu, is where they will turn next?

Maroc Telecom Revenues Up 1.9%

Moroccan incumbent Maroc Telecom has reported its consolidated group results for the first half of 2009. Revenues were up 1.9% year-on-year to MAD14.6 billion (USD1.84 billion) in the six months ended 30 June, whilst EBITDA rose 1.0% to MAD8.6 billion and net income attributable to the group climbed 2.6% to MAD 4.6 billion.

The total customer base reached 19.6 million at mid-year, up by 5.3% from June 2008, with growth fuelled by subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa which saw their combined customer bases increase by 44.1% year-on-year to 3.2 million customers. In the second quarter revenues stood at MAD7.46 billion, up 1.8% versus the same period last year.

The results incorporate Maroc Telecom's domestic fixed line, broadband and mobile operations, and its subsidiaries Mauritel (Mauritania), Onatel (Burkina Faso) and Gabon Telecom (including cellco Libertis) as well as the Mobisud France and Mobisud Belgium MVNO companies. Mobisud France was withdrawn from Maroc Telecom's consolidated financials as from 1 June 2009.

The Moroccan operator also released a 2009 full year outlook, predicting revenue growth of around 2% and an operating margin of around 45% (compared to 44.9% in H1).

Maroc Telecom Registers Q1 Revenue Growth of 2.4%

Maroc Telecom Group's revenues in the first quarter reached MAD 7.1 billion, up 2.4 percent compared to the year-earlier period. Operating profit rose to MAD 3.2 billion, up 2.7 percent on a strong performance both in its home market Morocco and in the subsidiaries' operations in sub-Saharan Africa. The group's EBITDA increased to MAD 4.2 billion, up 4.9 percent.

The customer base grew by 9.7 percent year-on-year to 19.7 million at 31 March. This growth was essentially attributable to mobile services in Morocco, which achieved a 6.8 percent year-on-year increase in the customer base to 14.6 million (up by 147,000 from December), and to the African subsidiaries, which expanded the mobile customer base by 42.8 percent to 2.8 million. Revenues in Morocco rose to MAD 6.1 billion in the first quarter, up 1.0 percent year-on-year, with mobile service revenues up 1.9 percent to MAD 4.4 billion

The annualized mobile churn rate came to 37.5 percent, representing a 2.6 point increase versus the previous quarter, while blended ARPU amounted to MAD 91, down 6.4 percent year-on-year, essentially due to the impact of growth in the customer base and lower interconnection revenues. Revenues in the fixed-line and internet segments in Morocco came to MAD 2.4 billion, up 1.2 percent year-on-year. At end-March, the fixed-line network had 1.286 million lines in service, representing a 3.7 percent decrease year-on-year, while the average monthly bill increased marginally (up 0.6%).

The ADSL customer base totaled 488,000 lines at 31 March, up 0.2 percent year-on-year. In addition, the 3G mobile internet customer base rose from 28,000 customers to 65,000 customers during the first quarter.

XOF 29 Billion Raised from Onatel IPO

Burkina Faso has raised XOF 29 billion from the sale of 20 percent of telecoms operator Onatel through an initial public offering of shares. The shares in Onatel, which is 51 percent owned by 

Maroc Telecom, will be listed on the West Africa franc zone regional BRVM bourse based in neighbouring Ivory Coast by 1 May, Alexis Lourgo, MD of lead manager SBIF, told Reuters. 

Investors in Onatel include Burkinabe individuals and companies, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank.

The Burkinabe state is the biggest shareholder in the firm, retaining 20 percent after Maroc Telecom. 

Maroc Telecom Wins Mali's Sotelma Bid

Maroc Telecom has agreed to acquire 51 percent of the Mali national operator Sotelma from the local government. The Mali government declared the Moroccan operator the provisional winner of the auction, reports news agency APA, citing a statement from Maroc Telecom.

Maroc Telecom reportedly offered EUR 252 million for the controlling stake in Sotelmea, beating offers from Sudatel and Portugal Telecom. The Mali government will maintain a 20 percent stake in Sotelma. 

Mali Still Talking to Maroc Telecom Over Sotelma Sale

The government of Mali is still in talks to sell a majority stake in national operator Sotelma to Maroc Telecom, reports local daily L'Essor. Maroc Telecom presented its bid for a 51 percent stake in January.

The Moroccan operator, already active in several African countries, offered EUR 252 million, beating bids of EUR 111 million from Sudatel and EUR 80 million from Portugal Telecom, according to the paper.

The government has given itself three months to negotiate with Maroc Telecom, a communications ministry official told the paper. Two weeks ago a delegation from the Moroccan operator visited the country to continue the negotiations.

The ministry official said the government is hoping for an improvement in Maroc Telecom's offer, while also looking to secure certain guarantees on personnel and management after the privatisation. The government has already negotiated a social plan at Sotelma for 610 voluntary redundancies, out of total staff of 1,382. 

Morocco's Annual Subscriber Numbers Hits 14% Growth Rate

Morocco's mobile phone subscriber base rose by around 14 percent to 22.82 million at the end of 2008, compared to 20.03 million a year earlier, according to telecommunications regulator ANRT. 

Mobile penetration grew to 73.98 percent from 65.66 percent over the same period. Maroc Telecom leads the market with 63.36 percent of mobile phone customers, followed by Medi Telecom with 34.73 percent and Wana Corporate with 1.91 percent.

The mix of prepaid to contract customers remains unchanged at 96/4. The fixed phone subscriber base rose by 24.96 percent to 2.99 million at the end of 2008, compared to 2.39 million subscribers a year earlier. 

Fixed phone penetration thus increased to 9.7 percent from 7.85 percent. Residential customers account for 802.1 percent of all fixed lines.

The number of internet subscribers rose by 43.98 percent to 757,453. Dial-up customers fell by 8.96 percent to 5,454 and ADSL customers frew by 1.34 percent 482,791. 3G internet customers grew five-fold to 268,131 over the same period.

ADSL accounts for 63.74 percent of all internet subscribers, followed by 3G with 35.4 percent. 

Maroc Telecom Annual Revenue up by 7.2%

Maroc Telecom posted a 7.2 percent rise in annual sales to MAD 29.5 billion, driven mainly by its mobile operations. In the fourth quarter, revenues rose a slower 3.9 percent to MAD 7.5 billion. The Moroccan operator expects to report growth in operating profit of over 13 percent for 2008. In its home market Morocco, revenues rose 6.6 percent last year to MAD 27.7 billion. For the fourth quarter, mobile revenues in Morocco improved 4.3 percent to MAD 4.7 billion and fixed-line sales rose 6.4 percent to MAD 2.5 billion. The company finished the year with 14.456 million mobile customers in its home market, up 8.5 percent from 2007, while mobile ARPU fell 8.4 percent to MAD 99.2. The number of fixed-line customers was down 2.8 percent to 1.299 million, while the fixed internet base grew 1.3 percent to 400,000. Marco Telecom also had 30,000 mobile broadband users and 10,000 IPTV customers.

IFC to Buy into Burkina's Onatel

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is to purchase up to 5% of Burkina Faso's telecom operator Onatel in an effort to support an ongoing IPO. IFC,  the World Bank’s private sector lender, in a statement said it would take on a stake of up to 5% by buying any unsubscribed shares.  The IPO begun on 22 December 2008 and closes on 31 January 2009.

Onatel intends not to displace any private investors.  Should all shares be subscribed to, according to IFC, the government will sell it a 3% stake.

Currently, Maroc Telecom has 51% shares in Onatel, which stake it acquired in 2006 when the government embarked on privatization of the network.  In the IPO, Burkina Faso's first ever, the government is offering a further 20% stake

IFC is also working closely with the Burkinabé government to improve the legal and regulatory environment and make it easier for entrepreneurs and private businesses to operate and contribute to economic development, according to the statement. In fiscal 2007, IFC invested $8.5 million in the country. On a broader scale, IFC is increasing its investments in Africa, particularly in the poorest countries and regions where the private sector has played a limited role in economic development thus far, the statement adds.