Morocco’s Medi Telecom (Meditel), a France Telecom affiliate, reported a 126 percent rise in net profit last year. Meditel attributes the increase to the growth of its customer base, Morocco’s official MAP news agency reported on Friday evening.
According to the report, Meditel made a net profit of 623 million dirhams (US$78 million) in 2010 on turnover that rose 7.1 percent to 5.7 billion dirhams.
France Telecom currently holds a 40 percent stake in the mobile phone operator.
Meditel also reported that the number of customers rose 14 percent to 10.8 million by the end of last year.
Meditel is facing stiff competition in the country from Vivendi’s affiliate Maroc Telecom and Wana, a company recently making news as key shareholder Zain of Kuwait has said it is looking to bolster its activities in the North African country.
It is unclear if mobile phone operators will continue to report massive gains this year due to unrest in the region, but analysts are optimistic that th Moroccan market will continue to expand.
By Jonathan Terry
