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Maîtriser la Performance Financière : EBIT, EBITDA et Résultat d’Exploitation

EBIT وEBITDA وتسلسل النقد: حالة اتصالات المغرب

EBIT, EBITDA and the cash cascade: the Maroc Telecom case

BVC practical case — why the cascade matters

BVC practical case: EBITDA is the preferred metric for telecom operators and investment banks — it measures operating performance before depreciation and financing. But shareholders cannot “spend” EBITDA: you must subtract capex (fibre, 4G/5G), taxes, interest and the change in working capital to reach free cash flow. Open the IAM company page and the Casabourse comparator to track this cascade across 2023–2025.

Definitions — from operations to cash

EBITDA = operating profit + depreciation charges (simplified). It measures core business profitability.

EBIT (operating income) = EBITDA − depreciation. IAM reported operating income of 13.55 bn MAD in 2025; in 2024 the line is not shown separately on Casabourse, but the EBITDA/EBIT gap reflects wear on network assets.

Net income = EBIT − financial charges − taxes ± exceptional items. IAM 2024: 1.80 bn (exceptionally low) vs 6.97 bn in 2025.

Free cash flow (FCF) ≈ EBITDA − capex − cash taxes − change in working capital. This is what funds dividends and deleveraging.

Cascade table — Maroc Telecom 2024 (RFA)

Cascade step IAM 2024 IAM 2023 Comment
Revenue 36.70 bn MAD 36.79 bn Stable — mature subscriber base
EBITDA 19.20 bn MAD 19.37 bn EBITDA margin ~52% of revenue
Depreciation (estimated) ~5.7 bn MAD ~5.5 bn Fibre network, licences, equipment
EBIT (operating income) ~13.5 bn MAD (estimated) ~13.9 bn EBITDA − depreciation
Capex (intensity ~16.5% of revenue) ~6.0 bn MAD ~5.8 bn Fibre, mobile, data centres
EBITDA − Capex ~13.2 bn MAD ~13.6 bn Gross operating cash before taxes/working capital
Net income 1.80 bn MAD 5.28 bn 2024: exceptional charges
Net debt 22.4 bn MAD 16.4 bn 2024 jump — EV mechanically higher
Net debt / EBITDA ~1.17x ~0.85x Structural leverage but under control
Dividend (DPS) 1.43 MAD 4.20 MAD Payout ~70% on normalised net income

Sources: IAM RFA 2024–2025, Casabourse. Capex estimated at ~16.5% of revenue (Casabourse telecom dashboard method). Depreciation = EBITDA − published 2025 EBIT, extrapolated.

Reading — EBITDA is not available cash

IAM generates 19.2 bn in EBITDA — impressive. But ~6 bn goes to capex to maintain and expand the network. That leaves ~13.2 bn before taxes, interest and working capital. Financial charges on 22.4 bn of net debt absorb an additional slice. The lesson: a telecom operator can show excellent EBITDA while paying a dividend that depends on free cash flow, not gross EBITDA.

Why 2024 net income (1.80 bn) is far below EBITDA

The gap between EBIT (~13.5 bn) and net income (1.80 bn) is explained by:

  • Financial charges on debt (~19.6 bn gross debt in 2025 for reference).
  • Taxes on taxable profit.
  • Exceptional items in 2024 — restructurings, provisions, exchange-rate effects on African subsidiaries.

That is why the 2024 P/E (~44x) is misleading: EBITDA stays around 19 bn when net income collapses temporarily. Telecom analysts often value on EV/EBITDA (~5.4x for IAM) rather than P/E in an exceptional year.

2022–2025 trajectory — stable EBITDA, volatile net income

Year EBITDA Net income Net debt EBITDA − Capex (est.)
2022 19.67 bn 2.75 bn 16.4 bn ~13.8 bn
2023 19.37 bn 5.28 bn 16.4 bn ~13.6 bn
2024 19.20 bn 1.80 bn 22.4 bn ~13.2 bn
2025 18.49 bn 6.97 bn 17.6 bn ~12.4 bn

EBITDA is remarkably stable (~19 bn ±3%); net income swings sharply. To invest in IAM, track EBITDA, capex/revenue and net debt as much as P/E.

Compare in the comparator — IAM vs Marsa Maroc

Marsa Maroc shows 2024 EBITDA of 2.72 bn on revenue of 5.01 bn (margin ~54%) — comparable to IAM in intensity. But port capex is more moderate in proportion; EBITDA → FCF conversion is more direct. In the comparator, compare EBITDA margin, capex/revenue and debt/EBITDA: two capital-intensive sectors, two different cash cascades.

Key takeaways

  • IAM 2024 EBITDA: 19.2 bn MAD — stable operating performance.
  • Capex ~6 bn (~16.5% of revenue) — do not confuse EBITDA with free cash.
  • Net debt 22.4 bn — debt/EBITDA ~1.17x.
  • Exceptional 2024 net income (1.80 bn) — misleading P/E; prefer EV/EBITDA.
  • Cascade: EBITDA − capex − taxes/working capital ≈ FCF available for dividends.

Self-check

  1. What was IAM’s EBITDA in 2024?
  2. What is the order of magnitude of IAM capex (intensity ~16.5% of revenue)?
  3. Why was 2024 net income far below EBITDA?
  4. What was IAM’s net debt/EBITDA ratio in 2024?
  5. Which metric complements P/E when valuing a telecom?
Important

Ce contenu est fourni a des fins educatives. Il ne constitue pas un conseil en investissement personnalise ni une recommandation d acheter ou vendre une valeur. Verifiez toujours vos hypotheses, votre horizon et votre tolerance au risque.