Maroc Telecom first-half revenue rises 19.5 pct

(Adds detail, background, previous dateline PARIS

RABAT, July 23 (Reuters) - Morocco's biggest telecoms company, Maroc Telecom IAM.CS(IAM.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), reported a 19.5 percent rise in first-half revenue on Monday, boosted by growth in its main mobile phone and Internet businesses.

Sales rose to 13.01 billion dirhams ($1.60 billion), the company said in a statement. The increase was 10.1 percent on a like-for-like basis.

The company controlled by French media and telecoms group Vivendi (VIV.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said its mobile subscriber base surged 31 percent in the year to the end of June to 11.7 million, with one million net new clients added this year alone.

Average revenue per mobile user fell 8.5 percent.

Its fixed-line business continued to suffer from increasing competition, with revenue for fixed-line and Internet activities slipping 3.9 percent to 4.73 billion dirhams.

Morocco's state sold 4 percent of the former monopoly this month, cutting its stake to 30 percent. Vivendi owns 51 percent of Maroc Telecom and the remaining 15 percent is traded on the Casablanca and Paris stock markets.

The company competes with local company Wana and with Meditel, a joint venture between Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Portugal Telecom (PTC.LS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).