UPDATE 1-Maroc Telecom's Q3 operating profit falls 4.3 pct

* Operating profit down 3.6 bln dirhams

* Turnover down 0.6 pct at 7.83 bln dirhams

* Client numbers up 11 pct at 21.4 mln

(Adds analyst comment)

RABAT, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Maroc Telecom (IAM.CS) reported a 4.3 percent drop in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, though it was stepping up investment and efforts to keep subscriber numbers growing, the company said.

Operating profit fell to 3.6 billion dirhams ($466.4 million), while turnover was down 0.6 percent at 7.83 billion dirhams, Morocco's dominant phone company said in a statement.

Its client base rose 11 percent to 21.4 million in the year to the end of September.

If current market conditions continue, the company should achieve sales growth of 2 percent and an operating margin of around 45 percent in the full year, it said.

"That's practically in line with our forecasts," said BMCE analyst Hicham Saadani, who pointed to a strong performance in the company's domestic mobile operations in the first nine months of the year.