(Ecofin Agency) - Despite the coronavirus crisis that is hitting Morocco’s economy and disrupting all sectors including telecoms, the incumbent operator Maroc Telecom has posted a good result for the first quarter this year. The company’s consolidated turnover for the period was MAD9,307 million ($922 million), up 4% compared to that in Q1 2019.

Turnover was MAD5,400 million ($$535 million), up 0.3% compared to Q1 2019.  The segments of mobile and voice data were very dynamic over the period reviewed. On the international market, Maroc Telecom's ten African subsidiaries generated a 6.9% increase in revenues. For the first quarter of 2020, the company reported performance of MAD4,207 million (USD417 million). In terms of the group's overall revenues, Morocco accounted for 58.1% of the turnover.

According to Abdeslam Ahizoune (pictured), Chairman of Maroc Telecom's Management Board, “this first quarter's results are driven by the expansion of the customer base.” The number of the group's customers reached nearly 69 million at the end of March 2020, up 11.3% YoY, driven by the increase in the number of customers in Morocco and especially in the international subsidiaries with the integration of Tigo Chad since July 1, 2019.