RABAT- Maroc Telecom, Morocco's largest telecoms operator, on Tuesday, reported an adjusted profit of 2.83 billion dirhams ($317 million) for the first half of this year, down 5.8% on the same period last year.

Revenue also dropped 3% in the first six months this year to 17.78 billion dirhams due to lower mobile usage.

Maroc Telecom said its customer base rose 7.5% to 74 million, citing growth at its African subsidiaries.

Last year, the company rebranded all its African branches as “Moov Africa.”

It operates subsidiaries in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, Togo and the Central African Republic.

Maroc Telecom, which is listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris, is 53% controlled by the UAE’s Etisalat, with the Moroccan state owning 22%.

(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Mark Potter) ((ahmed.eljechtimi@thomsonreuters.com;))