Mauritius Commercial Bank Group Q1 pretax profit up 6.7 pct

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius Commercial Bank Group's (MCB) pretax profit rose 6.7 percent to 1.668 billion Mauritius rupees ($52.95 million) in its first quarter to September 30 compared with the same period last year helped by higher commission income. Net fee and commission income rose 16 percent to 801.5 million rupees from 691.2 million. Earnings per share rose to 5.77 rupees from 5.39 rupees. MCB, the biggest bank by market value in east Africa and the Indian Ocean region, said on Monday it expected first-half results to December 31 to improve on last year although the operating environment was likely to remain difficult in the short term. At 1034 GMT, MCB Group's shares were up 0.25 percent to 203.50 rupees on the Mauritius Stock Exchange. (1 U.S. dollar = 31.5000 Mauritius rupee)