Danone's Morocco unit lifts profit FRENCH yoghurt and bottled water maker Danone SA says its first-half earnings rose 10 per cent after its takeover of a subsidiary in Morocco helped boost profit. The company behind Dannon yoghurt and Evian water says it made 972 million euros ($A1.40 billion), up from 881 million euros a year earlier. Earnings were boosted by Danone's February takeover of its Moroccan subsidiary Centrale Laitiere. However, Danone said that on an underlying basis its profit slipped 4 per cent in the period with weak sales in Europe continuing to offset gains internationally. Rising raw material prices also cut into profit. Danone is in the midst of a 200 million-euro cost-cutting effort aimed at reversing its falling profitability.