UPDATE 2-Moroccan bank Attijari 2007 profit rises 8 pct
(Adds analyst comment)
RABAT, March 13 (Reuters) - Moroccan bank Attijariwafabank (ATW.CS) reported an 8.2 percent increase in 2007 net income on Thursday as it profited from an ongoing credit boom and a rapid expansion of its branch network.
Net profit for the 12 months to December 31 was 2.5 billion Moroccan dirhams ($335.6 million), while revenue climbed 19 percent to 8.8 billion dirhams, north Africa's biggest private bank said.
Attijariwafabank is growing fast in its home market as more Moroccans open bank accounts and take advantage of low interest rates to buy homes and cars. Attijari accounted for one quarter of bank lending in the country last year.
Client credits rose 31 percent to 106.5 billion dirhams, with mortgages growing 47 percent and consumer loans 26 percent, the bank said.
Bad loans fell 16 percent to 3.92 billion dirhams and accounted for 3.69 percent of overall credits. Risk cover was 94.2 percent, an improvement of 11.1 percentage points from a year earlier.
"Overall, revenue was in line with our expectations but risk-related costs grew more than expected due to the switch to IFRS reporting standards," said an analyst at Casablanca Finanace Intermediation.
The analyst said the brokerage had no immediate plans to change its "hold" rating.
Brokerage arm Attijari Intermediation saw its sales climb 14 percent and net profit rise 34 percent, while all the group's main specialised units, ranging from insurance to leasing and cash transfers, achieved double-digit percentage growth.
The bank said it would propose a full-year dividend of 50 dirhams per share, up 11 percent from the previous year. (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Erica Billingham and David Hulmes)
