UPDATE 1-Maroc Telecom first-quarter revenue up 2.4 pct

* Reports 2.4 pct growth in revenue

* Average mobile user revenue drops 6.4 pct

* Operating profit grows despite strong competition

(Adds comment by analyst, background)

RABAT, May 11 (Reuters) - Moroccan phone company Maroc Telecom (IAM.CS) reported a 2.4 percent increase in first-quarter revenue on Monday as growth in its customer base offset declining income per user.

Revenue was 7.13 billion dirhams ($865.8 million) while operating profit climbed 2.7 percent to 3.19 billion dirhams, the company said in a statement.

Maroc Telecom is controlled by Vivendi (VIV.PA), Europe's largest entertainment group, through a 54 percent holding.

It competes with Meditel, a joint venture of Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Portugal Telecom (PTC.LS), and Wana, owned by Moroccan national conglomerate ONA ONA.CS.

The company has fended off growing competition by boosting its client base with cut-price airtime deals.

The number of Maroc Telecom mobile customers grew 6.8 percent in the first quarter to 14.6 million. However, average revenue per mobile user slipped 6.4 percent.

"In a context of growing competition, Maroc Telecom is managing to maintain its margins at the expense of a small drop in market share," said BMCE analyst Hicham Saadani, who has an "add" rating on the shares.

Analysts say Moroccan telecom firms are faring relatively well in the global economic downturn but expect the amount of income from their mobile users to continue declining in the coming years as the country falls in line with other telecom markets.

They are keen to see how Maroc Telecom performs in 2010, the first full year it will compete with Wana in third-generation mobile services.

Portugal Telecom has appointed Morgan Stanley to sell its 32 percent stake in Meditel, people familiar with the matter told Reuters last week. [ID:nL7969313]

Saadani said Portugal Telecom's decision to exit Morocco would have more to do with its worldwide strategy than any worries about the north African country's telecom market.

"Portugal Telecom seem to be rejigging their positions everywhere in the world, probably to decouple their stakes from those of Telefonica," he said.

Maroc Telecom shares were up 0.1 percent at 162 dirhams in Casablanca, compared to a 0.72 percent increase by the benchmark MASI index .MASI. The stock has risen 6 percent this year, outperforming the MASI, which is little changed. ($1=8.235 Moroccan Dirham) (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer; editing by Rupert Winchester and Karen Foster)