S&P upgrades Bharti Airtel to ‘BBB+’ on strong India, Africa growth and debt reduction prospects

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday upgraded its long-term issuer credit rating on Bharti Airtel to ‘BBB+’ from ‘BBB’, citing strong earnings growth prospects in India and Africa and the telecom major’s improving balance sheet.

The global ratings agency said “growing data consumption and a fundamental improvement in Indian and African telco markets will help expand Bharti Airtel’s earnings” and support further deleveraging.

S&P expects Bharti Airtel’s subscriber base in India to grow by 3%-4% over the next year, with average revenue per user (ARPU) increasing by 5%-7%, driven by higher data usage, premiumisation and subscriber additions.