Maroc Telecom, the leading Moroccan phone and internet company, said its first-quarter profit increased 0.5 percent, boosted by its subsidies.

Net income rose to 3.2 million dirhams ($ 366K), the Rabat-based company said in a statement today.

The turnover increased by 4.3% at the end of March 2010 compared to the same period a year earlier, reaching 7.44 billion dirhams.

The number of Maroc Telecom's customers grew by 14%, reaching nearly 22.4 millions, according to the same source.