Telecomunicazioni
Maroc Telecom : H1 2018 Consolidated Results
At June 30, 2018, the Group's customer base stood at more than 60 million customers, up 9.7% year-on-year, driven by sustained growth in both the subsidiaries' customer base (+13.6%) and the Mobile and Fixed high speed customer base in Morocco .
Maroc Telecom Group's consolidated revenues at June 30, 2018 amounted to MAD 17,939 million, up 5.0% (+3.3% at constant exchange rates) compared to the first half of 2017. This performance was driven by sustained revenue growth from operations in Morocco, combined with the growth of international subsidiaries.
Maroc Telecom's earnings from operations before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the first six months of 2018 amounted to MAD 8,860 million, up 4.0% (+2.7% at constant exchange rates), due to EBITDA growth in both Morocco and the subsidiaries. The EBITDA margin remained high at 49.4%.
At the end of June 2018, Maroc Telecom's adjusted consolidated earnings from operations (EBITA) amounted to MAD 5,540 million, up 4.8% (+3.7% at constant exchange rates) under the combined effect of the 4.0% increase in EBITDA and limited increase of depreciation and amortization expense. The operating margin was 30.9%, up 0.1 pt (at constant exchange rates).
In the first half of 2018, the Group share of adjusted net income increased by 2.3% (+1.6% at constant exchange rates) compared to the first half of the previous year, mainly due to the strong increase in net income from operations in Morocco.
The Group share of published net income increased sharply by 8.6% at current exchange rates thanks to the growth of activities and restructuring charges recorded in the first half of 2017.
Adjusted cash flow from operations (CFFO) amounted to MAD 4,230 million, down 6.5% with investments (excluding frequencies and licenses) 3.2% up during the period, representing 17.4% of Group revenues.
At the end of June 2018, Maroc Telecom's consolidated net debt amounted to MAD 17 billion, up only 1% over the year. The cash generation coming from the Group's activities enables the payment of MAD 6 billion of dividends to all Maroc Telecom group shareholders.
On April 17, 2018, Maroc Telecom acquired 10% of Onatel's share capital on the Abidjan Regional Stock Exchange for MAD 469 million, bringing its stake in the capital of its subsidiary in Burkina Faso to 61%.
In June 2018, Maroc Telecom's subsidiary in Togo obtained a 2G/3G/4G Mobile license valid until the 31st of December 2036, for MAD 480 million, to be paid in three annual installments starting in July 2018.
On the basis of the recent changes in the market, to the extent that no new major exceptional event impacts the Group's business, Maroc Telecom raised its outlook for 2018, at constant scope and exchange rates:
*Fixed-line data includes Internet, ADSL TV and Data services to businesses
The sustained growth in revenues from the activities in Morocco continued with a 4.8% increase in the first half of 2018, to MAD 10,562 million. This growth was driven both by Mobile revenues (+3.5%) and Fixed-line revenues (+4.8%), which continued to benefit from the surge in Data.
Earnings from operations before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the first half of 2018 amounted to MAD 5,542 million. It was up 3.5% compared to the same period of the previous year and enabled the EBITDA margin rate to remain high at 52.5%.
Adjusted earnings from operations (EBITA) amounted to MAD 3,679 million, up 5.4% in one year, thanks to the increase in EBITDA and a virtually stable amortization charge. The adjusted EBITA margin remained high at 34.8%.
In the first six months of 2018, adjusted cash flow from operations (CFFO) in Morocco amounted to MAD 3,186 million, up 3.0%, the decrease in CAPEX offsetting the seasonality of Working Capital Requirements (WCR).
At June 30, 2018, the Mobile customer base reached 18.9 million customers, up 2.8% in one year, driven by the increase in the number of postpaid (+2.7%) and prepaid (+3.9%) customers.
With the reduced impact of the liberalization of VoIP telephony in November 2016 and the strong growth of Mobile Internet, Mobile revenues grew for the second quarter in a row and increased by 3.5% over the first half to reach MAD 6,784 million.
Mixed ARPU amounted to MAD 57.5 for the first six months of 2018, up 0.9% compared to the same period in 2017, thanks to the strong increase in Data usage.
The Fixed-line customer base improved by 6.5% year-on-year to 1.8 million lines and the ADSL customer base grew by 10.2% in one year to nearly 1.4 million subscriptions.
Fixed-line and Internet revenues increased by 4.8%, with 11.4% growth in Data revenues more than offsetting the decline in Voice revenues.
At the end of June 2018, the Group's international operations generated revenues of MAD 8,146 million, up 7.4% (+3.7% at constant exchange rates). This increase was driven by the sustained revenue growth of the new subsidiaries, particularly in Ivory Coast, Benin and Togo, the return to growth of activities in Mali, and the increase in Data and Mobile Money usage.
During the first half of 2018, earnings from operations before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to MAD 3,318 million, up 4.8% (+1.5% at constant exchange rates). The EBITDA margin amounted to 40.7%, down 0.9 pt at constant exchange rates due to the increase in the weight of regulatory taxes and fees, notably with the introduction of new taxes in Mali and Gabon.
During the same period, adjusted earnings from operations (EBITA) were MAD 1,861 million, up 3.7% (+0.6% at constant exchange rates) mainly due to the 4.8% increase in EBITDA. The adjusted operating margin declined by 0.7 pts (at constant exchange rates) to 22.8%.
The adjusted cash flow from operations (CFFO) from international operations was down 27.2% to MAD 1,044 million, due primarily to increased investment which supports the development of 3G and 4G technologies in the countries where licenses were obtained.
Notes:
(1) At a constant exchange rate for the MAD, Ouguiya and CFA franc.
CAPEX corresponds to the acquisitions of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets recognized over the period.
(3) Maroc Telecom consolidates the following companies in its financial statements: Mauritel, Onatel, Gabon Telecom, Sotelma and Casanet, as well as the new African subsidiaries (in the Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, Niger, and the Central African Republic) and Prestige Telecom, which has provided IT services to those companies since their acquisition on January 26, 2015.
(4) EBITA corresponds to EBIT before the amortization of intangible assets acquired through business combinations, the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets acquired through business combinations, and before other income and expenses relating to financial investment transactions and transactions with shareholders (except when recognized directly in equity).
(5) CFFO includes net cash flow from operations before tax, as set out in the cash flow statement, as well as the dividends received from affiliates and non-consolidated equity investments. CFFO also includes net capital expenditure, which corresponds to net uses of cash for acquisitions and disposals of property, plant, equipment, and intangible assets.
(6) Loans and other current and non-current liabilities less cash and cash equivalents, including cash held in escrow for bank loans.
(7) The active customer base consists of prepaid customers who have made or received a voice call (excluding ERPT or Call-Center calls) or received an SMS/MMS, or used Data services (excluding exchanges of technical data with the ERPT network in question) during the past three months, and postpaid customers who have not terminated their subscription agreements.
(8) The active customer base for 3G and 4G+ Mobile Internet includes holders of a postpaid subscription agreement (with or without a voice offer) and holders of a prepaid Internet subscription agreement, who have purchased at least one top-up during the past three months, or whose top-up is still valid, and who have used the service during that period.
(9) ARPU is defined as revenues (generated by inbound and outbound calls and by data services) net of promotional offers, excluding roaming and equipment sales, divided by the average customer base for the period. In this instance, blended ARPU covers both the prepaid and postpaid segments.
(10) The broadband customer base includes ADSL access and leased lines in Morocco, as well as the ADMA customer base in Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Mali.
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The adjusted operating income, group share of adjusted net income and adjusted CFFO, all non-IFRS measures, should be considered as additional information. They better illustrate the performance of the Group by excluding exceptional items.
The first half of 2018 was marked by the payment of MAD 274 million for licenses in Ivory Coast and Gabon.
As a reminder the financial statements for the first half of 2017 included MAD 580 million disbursed under voluntary redundancy plans finalized during the same period. The first half of the year also included the payment of MAD 410 million corresponding to the second tranche of the overall license obtained in Ivory Coast in March 2016 for an amount of MAD 1.6 billion, and the disbursement of MAD 28 million under the second and final tranche of the 3G license in Togo.
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