Moroccan bank CIH 2007 net more than triples

RABAT, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Moroccan mortgage lender CIH (CIH.CS) said its net profit more than tripled last year after it accelerated the recovery of bad loans and took advantage of a credit boom in the north African country.

After swinging to a profit in 2006 following years of losses, the Casablanca-based lender's net income soared to 1.42 billion dirhams ($185.1 million) last year from 388 million dirhams the previous year, the company said in a statement.

Loans issued climbed 26 percent to 5.3 billion dirhams while revenues grew 20 percent to 1.38 billion.

CIH nearly disappeared in the 1990s after it granted loans to over 50 Moroccan firms, most of them in the real estate and tourism sectors, which they never repaid.

A group of local banks signed a convention to restructure CIH and the authorities appointed a new chairman known for trouble-shooting.

Operations to clear up those bad loans "contributed 690 million dirhams to the pre-tax result of 1.426 billion dirhams registered in 2007," CIH said.

CIH's gradual recovery has bolstered the bank's value. Its capital stock grew to 2.484 billion dirhams at the end of last year from 1.069 billion a year earlier.

Moroccan state investment vehicle Caisse de Depot et de Gestion (CDG) owns around 65 percent of a holding company set up to manage CIH, and French bank Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne (CNCE) holds 35 percent.

CIH proposed to distribute a full-year dividend of 10 dirhams per share, its first in a decade according to stock exchange data.

Its shares were up 2.2 percent at 700 dirhams at 1032 GMT in Casablanca on Monday, adding to a 10 percent gain so far this year. (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Quentin Bryar)