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Moody's Ratings has upgraded Bharti Airtel's issuer rating to Baa2 from Baa3 while revising the outlook to stable from positive, on the back of the telecom operator's improved financial profile, steadily increasing market share and a supportive regulatory environment."The rating upgrade reflects a significant improvement in Bharti's financial profile and its steadily increasing market share, supported by structural changes in India's fast growing mobile sector," said Nidhi Dhruv, a Moody's Ratings vice president and senior credit officer. The telco's subscriber market share increased steadily to 33.5% in September this year from 28% in March 2020 as it continued to take market share from Vodafone Idea."Moderating competition and our expectations of a relatively supportive regulatory environment also contribute to the upgrade," said Dhruv. The agency said Bharti Airtel's Baa2 rating reflects its strong market position and improved financial profile. The company's ratings are a notch above the sovereign rating of Baa2. Live Events"Bharti's established market position in the resilient Indian telecom industry, solid financial profile with leverage trending to 1.5x-1.8x over the next 12-18 months, demonstrated access to capital markets and supportive shareholders position it well to be rated above India's sovereign rating," said Dhruv, who is the lead analyst for Bharti Airtel. "However, the linkages with the Indian economy constraint Bharti to be rated no more than one notch above the sovereign." Bharti Airtel's consolidated net profit surged 83% year-on-year in the September quarter, as the country's second largest telco added more high-paying customers that boosted data consumption and average revenue per user (ARPU). This marked the telco's 16th consecutive quarter in the black, after six straight losses earlier. The ratings agency said Bharti Airtel's prudent financial policies are reflective of the sustained improvement in its leverage through debt reduction and earnings growth.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News onbharti airtelBharti AirtelMoody's RatingsBaa2 ratingtelecom operatormarket sharefinancial profileregulatory environment (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onbharti airtelBharti AirtelMoody's RatingsBaa2 ratingtelecom operatormarket sharefinancial profileregulatory environment(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless
