PRESS RELEASE
Rabat, October 23, 2017
CONSOLIDATED RESULTS FOR THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2017Highlights:
» 8% increase in the Group's customer base which exceeds 56 million customers;
» 2.3% increase in consolidated Outgoing Services revenues;
» EBITDA margin up 1.3 points, to reach 50% at constant exchange rates;
» Group share of adjusted* net income up 4.2% at constant exchange rates;
» Confirmation of return to growth of Outgoing Mobile revenues in Morocco, thanks to the strong enthusiasm for Mobile Internet;
» Acceleration of the roll-out of Very High Speed networks in Morocco to meet strong demand;
» Sustained growth of new subsidiaries: 11% revenue growth and 42% EBITDA growth at constant exchange rates, for the first nine months of 2017.
2017 outlook maintained, at constant scope and exchange rates:
► Slight decrease in revenues due to new regulatory measures;
► Stable EBITDA;
► CAPEX of approximately 23% of revenues, excluding frequencies and licenses.
To mark the publication of this press release, Abdeslam Ahizoune, Chairman of the Management Board, made the following comments:
"The results of the third quarter confirm the improvement in trends observed in the first half of the year and validate the Group's strategic choices that are the International development and the accelerated rollout of Very High Speed Fixed-Line and Mobile networks to support the
growing use of Data. The implementation of the massive investment and modernization plans of the new African subsidiaries is ongoing, and is beginning to bear fruit in terms of growth and contribution to the Group's performance."
*adjusted from the impact of restructuring charges in 2017 and disposal of real estate asset in 2016 (cf: appendix 1)
1GROUP ADJUSTED* CONSOLIDATED RESULTS
IFRS in MAD million | 9M-2016 | 9M-2017 | Change | Change at constant exchange rates(1) |
Revenues | 26,674 | 26,020 | -2.5% | -2.3% |
EBITDA | 12,934 | 12,960 | +0.2% | +0.4% |
Margin (%) | 48.5% | 49.8% | +1.3 pts | +1.3 pts |
Adjusted EBITA | 8,064 | 8,088 | 0.3% | +0.5% |
Margin (%) | 30.2% | 31.1% | +0.9 pts | +0.9 pts |
Group share of adjusted net income - | 4,302 | 4,482 | +4.2% | +4.2% |
Margin (%) | 16.1% | 17.2% | +1.1 pts | +1.1 pts |
CAPEX(2) | 5,170 | 5,430 | +5.0% | |
Of which frequencies & licenses | 888 | 149 | ||
CAPEX/revenues (excluding frequencies & licenses) | 16.0% | 20.3% | +4.3 pts | |
Adjusted CFFO | 7,767 | 7,870 | +1.3% |
Details of the financial indicator adjustments are provided in Appendix 1.
► Customer base
The Group's customer base amounted to over 56 million customers at September 30, 2017, an increase of 7.7% year-on-year, driven by an expansion in the Mobile customer bases in Niger, Togo and Ivory Coast, as well as by the sustained growth of the Mobile and Fixed-Line broadband customer bases in Morocco.
► Revenues
Maroc Telecom Group's revenues for the first nine months of 2017 amounted to MAD 26,020 million, down slightly by 2.5% (-2.3% at constant exchange rates). This change was due to a decline in incoming revenues following the liberalization of IP telephony in November 2016 in Morocco and the decrease in mobile termination rates in Morocco and in the African subsidiaries. Revenues from Outgoing Services were up 2.3% thanks to the growth in the customer base and increased Data usage.
► Earnings from operations before depreciation and amortization
At end-September 2017, Maroc Telecom Group's earnings from operations before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to MAD 12,960 million, up 0.2% (+0.4% at constant exchange rates). The 12.2% growth in EBITDA (+12.8% at constant exchange rates) from International operations more than offset the 5.8% decline in EBITDA in Morocco.
The EBITDA margin was up 1.3 pts year-on-year, and reached a high level of 49.8% thanks to significant efforts to optimize costs, and to the favorable impact of decreases in Mobile termination rates at the Sub-Saharan subsidiaries.
► Earnings from operations
At end-September 2017, Maroc Telecom Group's consolidated adjusted earnings from operations (EBITA)(4) amounted to MAD 8,088 million, up 0.3% from the same period in 2016 (+0.5% at constant exchange rates) thanks to the increase in EBITDA. The adjusted EBITA margin rose by 0.9 pts at constant exchange rates to 31.1%.
► Group share of net income
The Group's share of adjusted net income amounted to MAD 4,482 million, up 4.2% at constant exchange rates compared to the same period of 2016, thanks to the strong increase in net income from International operations driven by the success of the restructuring of the new Moov subsidiaries which are now showing an overall positive net result.
► Cash flow
In the first nine months of 2017, adjusted cash flow from operations (CFFO)(5) was MAD 7,870 million, up 1.3% from the first nine months of 2016, driven by an improvement in CFFO in Morocco despite the intensification of the pace of capital investment.
REVIEW OF THE GROUP' S ACTIVITIES
Details of the financial indicator adjustments for "Morocco" and "International" are provided in Appendix 1.
Morocco
IFRS in MAD million | 9M-2016 | 9M-2017 | Change |
Revenues | 16,216 | 15,316 | -5.6% |
Mobile | 10,717 | 9,999 | -6.7% |
Services | 10,452 | 9,851 | -5.7% |
Equipment | 265 | 147 | -44.5% |
Fixed-Line | 6,740 | 6,696 | -0.7% |
Of which Fixed-Line Data* | 1,798 | 1,980 | +10.1% |
Eliminations and other income | -1,241 | -1,379 | |
EBITDA | 8,630 | 8,133 | -5.8% |
Margin (%) | 53.2% | 53.1% | -0.1 pts |
Adjusted EBITA | 5,829 | 5,320 | -8.7% |
Margin (%) | 35.9% | 34.7% | -1.2 pts |
CAPEX | 2,355 | 3,127 | +32.8% |
Of which frequencies & licenses | |||
CAPEX/revenues (excluding frequencies & licenses) | 14.5% | 20.4% | +5.9 pts |
Adjusted CFFO | 4,902 | 5,328 | +8.7% |
*Fixed-Line Data includes Internet, ADSL TV and corporate Data services
Revenues from operating activities in Morocco was MAD 15,316 million for the first nine months of the year, down 5.6%, following the reintroduction of asymmetric mobile termination rates in March 2017 and the liberalization of IP telephony in November 2016.
Revenues from Outgoing Services grew by 1.2%, sustained by the success of Mobile and Fixed-Line Data services, whose revenues registered strong growth of 55% and 10.1% respectively.
Earnings from operations before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the first nine months of 2017 amounted to MAD 8,133 million, down 5.8% compared with the same period of 2016 due to the decline in revenues. The EBITDA margin was almost stable (-0,1 pts) thanks to the 0.5 pts improvement in the gross margin and the 3.4% decline in operating costs reflecting the success of the voluntary redundancy plan that benefited to 1,026 employees.
Maroc Telecom - Itissalat Al-Maghrib published this content on 23 October 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 23 October 2017 00:06:00 UTC.
Original documenthttp://www.iam.ma/Lists/TelechargementFinance/Attachments/1032/Maroc Telecom_PR-Results Q3 2017_EN.pdf
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