At 190.6 billion dirhams, or 19 billion dollars, the turnover of companies listed in Casablanca shows growth of 8.4% at the end of September 2021. Industrial stocks and the financial sector are the two engines of this dynamism.
Barring an unlikely turnaround, companies listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange should achieve very good growth this year with the exception of a few struggling companies like Delâtre Levivier and Stroc Industries. This momentum is driven by the industrial sector, which is benefiting from the acceleration of the recovery in activity. Firm order books are once again well stocked and are approaching the level of activity before the health crisis.
The revenues of industrial companies improved by 10.5% at the end of September, to 123 billion dirhams. Gas operators, in particular TotalEnergies, + 36% growth in turnover, benefited from the increase in sold tonnages and the recovery in international crude prices.
From specialized distribution, Auto Hall is surfing on a favorable base effect (confinement in the first quarter of 2020), the strengthening of the purchasing power of households after having saved during the confinement period and, finally, on a favorable volume effect of the market. passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
In the construction industry, the cement group LafargeHolcim Maroc (+ 22.2%) and Sonasid saw their turnover jump in the wake of the recovery in overall cement sales for the former and the positive price / volume effect for the steelmaker.
The other engine of revenue growth for listed companies is the financial sector. Banks are picking up the slope even if they expect a sharp increase in bad debts, while insurance is experiencing insolent growth in the Life branch, the dynamism of which surprises even insurers. During the first nine months of 2021, the net banking income (GNP) recorded an increase of 3.1% to 51.6 billion dirhams, or 5.13 billion dollars.
In the banking sector, the 4.2% increase in the interest margin to 34.5 billion dirhams (3.4 billion dollars) comes from two establishments: the BCP group (more than 492 million dirhams compared to at the same period of last year and CIH BANK (+ 305 million dirhams) whose outstandings have experienced strong growth.The interest margin is the livelihood of a bank, its evolution reflects the efficiency of its commercial policy It is the health of this indicator on which the operating result depends.
Note, however, the very good performance of the margin on commissions, a strategic source of income for Moroccan banks which makes it possible to compensate for the drop in rates on the market for large companies. At the end of September, it amounted to 9.3 billion dirhams, up 7.8% while market transactions brought in 6.5 billion dirhams (650 million dollars), revenues up 4 , 8%. For the consultants of BMCE Capital Global Research, it is the Attijariwafa bank group that is bringing the bulk of the growth to interest margins and commissions.
In insurance, the Life branch continues its crazy growth observed for the past three years: + 20.4% at the end of September for a total of written premiums of 5.6 billion dirhams (560 million dollars). Growth concerns all listed companies. With the woes of real estate, which for a long time was a popular investment for those with a lot of savings, investors flocked to life insurance products. In addition to favorable taxation, life insurance products are outside the scope of the inheritance rules of Muslim law. According to professionals, this is an increasingly important argument.
