{"id":2347,"date":"2026-06-25T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T06:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bullscreen.in\/news\/?p=2347"},"modified":"2026-06-25T11:28:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T05:58:07","slug":"sp-upgrades-bharti-airtel-bbb-plus-india-africa-growth-debt-reduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bullscreen.in\/news\/sp-upgrades-bharti-airtel-bbb-plus-india-africa-growth-debt-reduction\/","title":{"rendered":"S&P Upgrades Bharti Airtel to BBB+ as India, Africa Growth Strengthen Balance Sheet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bharti Airtel<\/a> has received a credit rating upgrade from S&P Global Ratings, with the agency raising its long-term issuer rating to \u2018BBB+\u2019 from \u2018BBB\u2019<\/strong>, citing strong earnings growth in India and Africa along with improving debt metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The upgrade reflects Airtel\u2019s growing strength in two of its biggest markets, where rising data consumption and improving telecom industry dynamics are expected to drive higher revenues and profitability. S&P said Airtel\u2019s financial position is becoming stronger as operating cash flows improve, helping the company reduce leverage despite ongoing investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In India, S&P expects Airtel\u2019s subscriber base to grow 3%-4%<\/strong> over the next 12 months, while average revenue per user (ARPU) is projected to rise 5%-7%<\/strong>. The increase is likely to be supported by higher mobile data usage, premium plans, and new customer additions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airtel\u2019s Africa business is expected to outperform its India operations over the next two years. S&P estimates the African subscriber base could expand 9%-11% annually<\/strong>, with ARPU in dollar terms rising 5%-7% each year<\/strong> through fiscal 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ratings agency forecasts Airtel\u2019s consolidated EBITDA to grow 8%-10% annually<\/strong> over the next two years, following a sharp 28% jump in fiscal 2026<\/strong>. Africa\u2019s share in total EBITDA is expected to increase to 25%-27%<\/strong>, up from earlier estimates of around 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S&P maintained a stable outlook, expecting Airtel\u2019s funds-from-operations-to-debt ratio to stay above 50%<\/strong> over the next 12-24 months. However, it warned that the rating could face pressure if leverage weakens or the ratio falls below 45%<\/strong> due to slower earnings growth or aggressive debt-funded expansion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bharti Airtel has received a credit rating upgrade from S&P Global Ratings, with the agency…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[203],"class_list":["post-2347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-telecom-digital-services","tag-bhartiartl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"S&P Upgrades Bharti Airtel to BBB+ as India, Africa Growth Strengthen Balance Sheet - BULLSCREEN","description":"S&P upgrades Bharti Airtel to BBB+ as strong India and Africa growth, rising ARPU, and lower debt improve its long-term financial outlook.","canonical_url":"https:\/\/www.bullscreen.in\/news\/sp-upgrades-bharti-airtel-bbb-plus-india-africa-growth-debt-reduction\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":""},"schema":null,"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"NSE & BSE Stock Market News - BULLSCREEN - Smart analysis for smart decisions.","og:type":"article","og:title":"S&P Upgrades Bharti Airtel to BBB+ as India, Africa Growth Strengthen Balance Sheet - BULLSCREEN","og:description":"S&P upgrades Bharti Airtel to BBB+ as strong India and Africa growth, rising ARPU, and lower debt improve its long-term financial outlook.","og:url":"https:\/\/www.bullscreen.in\/news\/sp-upgrades-bharti-airtel-bbb-plus-india-africa-growth-debt-reduction\/","og:image":"https:\/\/www.bullscreen.in\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/sp-upgrades-bharti-airtel-bbb-plus-india-africa-growth-debt-reduction.jpg","og:image:secure_url":"https:\/\/www.bullscreen.in\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/sp-upgrades-bharti-airtel-bbb-plus-india-africa-growth-debt-reduction.jpg","og:image:width":"1200","og:image:height":"670","article:published_time":"2026-06-25T06:35:00+00:00","article:modified_time":"2026-06-25T05:58:07+00:00","article:author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Bullscreen\/","twitter:card":"summary_large_image","twitter:title":"S&P Upgrades Bharti Airtel to BBB+ as India, Africa Growth Strengthen Balance Sheet - BULLSCREEN","twitter:description":"S&P upgrades Bharti Airtel to BBB+ as strong India and Africa growth, rising ARPU, and lower debt improve its long-term financial outlook.","twitter:creator":"@Bullscreen_","twitter:image":"https:\/\/www.bullscreen.in\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/sp-upgrades-bharti-airtel-bbb-plus-india-africa-growth-debt-reduction.jpg"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"2347","title":"#post_title #separator_sa BULLSCREEN","description":"S&P upgrades Bharti Airtel to BBB+ as strong India and Africa growth, rising ARPU, and lower debt improve its long-term financial outlook.","keywords":null,"keyphrases":{"focus":{"keyphrase":"","score":0,"analysis":{"keyphraseInTitle":{"score":0,"maxScore":9,"error":1}}},"additional":[]},"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"default","og_image_type":"featured","og_image_url":"https:\/\/www.bullscreen.in\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/sp-upgrades-bharti-airtel-bbb-plus-india-africa-growth-debt-reduction.jpg","og_image_width":"1200","og_image_height":"670","og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":"","og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":null,"twitter_use_og":false,"twitter_card":"default","twitter_image_type":"featured","twitter_image_url":"https:\/\/www.bullscreen.in\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/sp-upgrades-bharti-airtel-bbb-plus-india-africa-growth-debt-reduction.jpg","twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"BlogPosting","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[]},"schema_type":"default","schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":"-1","robots_max_videopreview":"-1","robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":"default","local_seo":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"ai":{"faqs":[],"keyPoints":[],"schemas":[],"titles":[],"descriptions":[],"socialPosts":{"email":[],"linkedin":[],"twitter":[],"facebook":[],"instagram":[]}},"created":"2026-06-25 05:58:07","updated":"2026-06-25 07:49:06","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"

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