UPDATE 1-Maroc Telecom posts profit, raises outlook

(Adds more CEO comment in paragraph 5)

PARIS/RABAT, July 29 (Reuters) - Maroc Telecom (IAM.CS), Morocco's dominant telecoms company, posted an 11.1 percent rise in half-year operating profit to 6.7 billion dirhams ($918.2 million) and raised its outlook for the full year.

The company (IAM.PA), controlled by French entertainment group Vivendi (VIV.PA), said it expected 2008 revenue growth exceeding 8 percent and a rise in earnings from operations of more than 11 percent.

Maroc Telecom reported a 17.6 percent rise in net profit to 4.5 billion dirhams, while sales rose 10 percent to 14.3 billion.

"First-half revenues and results are showing a strong improvement, better than our forecasts, despite an increasingly competitive environment and the rise of food and energy prices," Chairman Abdeslam Ahizoune said in a statment.

Speaking at a news conference in Rabat, he added: "Growth prospects are promising thanks to the mobile business, which accounts for 89 percent of the number of our clients and 65 percent of our turnover."

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

Maroc Telecom has fended off nimble new rivals through heavy network investment and cut-price airtime deals that have kept its client base growing fast in the country of 33 million.

Maroc Telecom stock has jumped nearly 30 percent since the start of the year, compared with a gain of about 14 percent last year. The shares shed 0.5 percent to 189 dirhams on Tuesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of about $22.6 billion. (Reporting by Marie Maitre and Zakia Abdennebi; Editing by Paul Bolding and Ted Kerr)