The stock market driven by listed companies

In the first quarter of 2025, the stock market continued its momentum with a +7.7% increase in revenues compared to +4.0% in Q1-24 and +10.2% in Q4-24. In detail, 53 listed companies saw an increase in their quarterly revenues compared to only 14 issuers whose revenues declined during the same period. 

The key messages which emerge from the analysis of the market’s commercial achievements are summarized in the following points:

  • Market’s revenue growth of +7.7% at the end of March 2025 is largely driven by robust domestic Demand linked to the super cycle in investment benefiting the Moroccan economy. This situation is reflected in the press releases of listed companies in Q1-25;
  • The banking sector maintains its status as the main contributor to the growth of the market’s revenues through an increase in its aggregate NBI of +10.7% in Q1-25, i.e. MAD +2,352 Mn compared to MAD +5,914 Mn for the whole market. This performance is supported by the income of market activities which increased by +31.5% and contributed 56% to the growth of the listed sector's NBI;
  • The NIGS of the six listed banks(1) shows an appreciation of +18.7% to MAD 5,641 Mn at the end of March 2025, significantly higher than that of the activity. This is attributed to the combined effect of costs optimization through a C/I ratio of 39.8% down -2.9 pts and the good control of the cost of risk, whose increase is twice lower than that of the NBI, i.e. +5.7% against +10.7% respectively;
  • The market positively welcomed the listed companies’ achievements in Q1-25, with rising by +3.8% over 25 trading sessions. This is the period of results publication from April 25th to May 30th. Trading volumes also remained relatively high, with an average daily volume of MAD 373 Mn over the same period. 

Stock Market: Listed Banks Account for 40% of Growth

For the first quarter of 2025, listed companies’ aggregate revenues reached MAD 82.9 Bn, compared to MAD 77.0 Bn a year earlier. This represents an increase of +7.7%, against +4.0% in the same quarter of the previous year and +10.2% in Q4-24. Based on the various press releases, we note that this performance is primarily driven by strong domestic Demand momentum and a positive price effect in favor of listed mining companies. 

With the exception of Telecoms, all sectors of activity posted positive revenue growth in Q1-25. The main sectoral trends emerging from these quarterly publications are as follows:

  • The Banking sector remains the main contributor to revenues’ growth through a cumulative increase of MAD +2,352 Mn in its consolidated NBI against MAD +5,914 Mn for the whole market, i.e. a contribution of 40%;
  • The Industries & Services sector recorded an increase of MAD +769 Mn in its revenues, driven by (MAD +329 Mn). This was followed by the Building Materials sector (MAD +569 Mn) supported by the increase in Sonasid sales of MAD +302 Mn. 

The telecom sector recorded a decline in its consolidated revenue

In relative variation, the evolution of the different listed sectors revenues in Q1-25 is as follows:

  • 13 listed sectors, representing more than 78% of the market capitalization, displayed an increase in their revenue at the end of March 2025, namely: Industries & Services (+25.9%), Financing (+24.8%), Mining (+20.2%), Building Materials (+12.3%), Ports (+12.3%), Automotive (+11.0%), Banks (+10.7%), Cement (+10.4%), Retail (+8.7%), Real Estate (+7.8%), Insurance (+6.2%), Agri-Business (+4.1%) and finally TI (+1.6%);
  • 2 Listed sectors, which account for more than 11% of market capitalization, show almost stable revenues. These are the Agriculture (+0.4%) and Energy (+0.1%) sectors;
  • Only the Telecoms sector showed a decline in its consolidated revenue, i.e. -2.0%. 

Listed Banks: Strong Growth Driven by Market Activities

At the end of Q1-25, the consolidated NBI of the seven listed banks stood at MAD 24.4 Bn, compared to MAD 22.1 Bn during the same period of the previous year. This represents a solid increase of +10.7% at the end of March 2025. In more detail, the evolution of the various components of the listed banking sector’s aggregate NBI reveals the following findings:

  • The income of market activities alone contributed 56% to the change in the aggregate NBI of listed banks, posting a significant increase of +31.5%. This benefited from the favorable impact of lower interest rates on the performance of bond portfolios, combined with the performance of foreign exchange activity;
  • The interest income rose by +5.9% and accounted for 35% of the increase in the sector's NBI. This results from the increase in customer loans by +4.7% during the same period to MAD 1,161 Bn;
  • The fees income increased by +5.2%, driven by the ramp-up of international trade activities, specialized subsidiaries, and the growing use of digital services by customers. 

Regarding the cost of risk of the listed banking sector excluding , it posted a controlled increase of +5.7%, from MAD 3,711 Mn in Q1-24 to MAD 3,924 Mn in Q1-25. In this context, the CoR rate remained almost stable at 137 BPS, resulting from contrasting trends among listed banks, ranging from -10.5% for to +51.9% for .

Furthermore, the earnings power of the six listed banks showed an increase of +18.7% to MAD 5,641 Mn at the end of March 2025. This is driven by the continued optimization of expenses through an optimal C/I ratio of 39.8%, down -2.9 points, coupled with effective control of the cost of risk.

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