S&P Global Ratings raises Airtel ratings

S&P Global Ratings has raised Bharti Airtel’s ratings to ‘BBB’ on expectations that the telco’s earnings growth will remain robust over the next 24 months fuelled by Indian operations, subscriber adds and user revenue lift.

The outlook for the Indian operations stems from expectations of 2 per cent to 4 per cent of annual subscriber additions and average revenue per user (ARPU) growth of 6 per cent to 8 per cent in the same period, a fall out of upgrades to higher-priced plans and higher data consumption.

S&P Global Ratings has raised its long-term issuer credit ratings on Bharti Airtel to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-’. “At the same time, we raised our ratings on the senior unsecured debt the company issued or guarantees to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-’, and the ratings on its subordinated perpetual securities to ‘BB+’ from ‘BB’,” it said.

The positive outlook reflects S&P Global Ratings’ view that Bharti Airtel’s continued deleveraging, and a correspondingly supportive leverage tolerance, could support a higher long-term issuer credit rating over the next 24 months.

S&P Global Ratings believes Bharti Airtel’s earnings growth will remain robust over the next 24 months, fuelled by its Indian operations, according to a filing by the Sunil Mittal-led telco.