PARIS (Reuters) - Maroc Telecom on Friday posted a 9.1 percent rise in first-quarter operating profit, helped by solid sales growth and cost control, and confirmed its full-year outlook.

Morocco's dominant telecoms operator, which is controlled by the French entertainment group Vivendi, made an operating profit of 3.104 billion Moroccan dirhams in the three months to March 31.

"These results confirm our annual forecasts and have been achieved in a context of huge growth of mobile services," and despite the rising cost of living in the group's markets, Chairman Abdeslam Ahizoune said in a statement.

First-quarter revenues reached 6.97 billion Moroccan dirhams, up 13.9 percent on 2007, or up 8.3 percent on a comparable basis. The operator's operating margin during the period came to 44.7 percent, a 1 percentage point rise against last year on a comparable basis.

Maroc Telecom competes with Spanish-Portuguese venture Meditel and with Wana, owned by national conglomerate ONA.