PARIS -(Dow Jones)- Maroc Telecom (IAM.CL), the Moroccan national telecommunications operator, Tuesday reported 2004 revenue of 17.92 billion Moroccan dirham ($1=MAD8.85), up 12.8% from MAD15.89 billion the year before, helped by strong growth in its mobile phone business.
In a statement, Maroc Telecom - part of the French media-to-telecommunications group Vivendi Universal (V) - said revenue in the fourth quarter rose 14.4% to MAD4.62 billion from MAD4.04 billion a year earlier.
At current exchange rates, full-year revenue for 2004 comes to EUR1.62 billion, up from EUR1.44 billion, while fourth quarter turnover rose to EUR418 million, up from EUR365 million.
Vivendi is scheduled to publish its full-year and fourth-quarter revenue numbers later Tuesday.
In its statement, Maroc Telecom said revenue from its mobile phone operations jumped 21% last year to MAD10.15 billion from MAD8.39 billion. Revenue from fixed-line activities slipped 0.2% to MAD11.18 billion from MAD11.21 billion.
Maroc Telecom blamed the drop in income from its fixed-line business on a price reduction in Morocco for calls made to mobile phones.
In its statement Tuesday, the Moroccan phone operator said the number of mobile phone customers grew 22% last year to 6.4 million.
-By Simon Clow, Dow Jones Newswires; 33 1 40 17 17 40; simon.clow@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 1st February 2005
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