Moody’s Ratings has upgraded Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s issuer rating to Baa2 from Baa3, changing the outlook to stable from positive. The upgrade reflects Bharti’s improved financial profile and growing market share, supported by structural changes in India’s mobile sector. Moody’s anticipates leverage to improve to 1.8x by fiscal year 2025-26 and further to 1.5x by fiscal year 2026-27.
Credit Rating Upgrade
Moody’s Ratings has upgraded Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s issuer rating to Baa2 from Baa3, while also revising the outlook to stable from positive. According to Moody’s, this decision is based on a noteworthy improvement in Bharti’s financial health and its consistently increasing market presence.
Key Factors Driving the Upgrade
The rating upgrade is supported by structural changes in India’s fast-growing mobile sector. These include moderating competition and expectations of a relatively supportive regulatory environment. Bharti’s established market position in the Indian telecom industry, a solid financial profile with leverage trending towards 1.5x-1.8x over the next 12-18 months, access to capital markets, and supportive shareholders also contribute to the rating.
Financial Performance and Projections
Bharti’s prudent financial policies are reflective of sustained improvement in its leverage through debt reduction and earnings growth. The company prepaid higher-cost deferred spectrum liabilities from cash surpluses, accelerating deleveraging. Following the prepayment of INR260 billion ($3.0 billion) of spectrum liabilities during fiscal year 2024-25, Moody’s expects Bharti’s consolidated leverage to improve to 1.8x by fiscal year 2025-26, compared to 2.3x for fiscal year 2024-25. Further improvements are expected to reduce leverage to 1.5x by fiscal year 2026-27.
Market Share and Revenue Growth
Bharti’s subscriber market share has steadily grown to 33.5% in September 2025, up from 28% in March 2020. In the first half of fiscal year 2025-26, Bharti recorded a year-on-year revenue growth of 17% to INR1.02 trillion and EBITDA growth of 20% to INR580.9 billion. The Indian operations contributed approximately 75-80% of both revenue and earnings.
Liquidity Position
Bharti’s liquidity is considered excellent. As of September 30, 2025, Bharti had approximately INR134 billion in consolidated cash and short-term investments. These funds, along with projected cash from operations, are expected to cover upcoming maturities of INR425 billion, Airtel Africa share buyback, expected capital spending and investments of INR757 billion, lease payments, and expected dividends of approximately INR165 billion over the next 18 months.
Source: BSE
