Fitch Ratings affirmed Bharti Airtel's (BOM:532454, NSE:BHARTIARTL) long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating and foreign-currency senior unsecured rating at 'BBB-', with a stable outlook, according to a Tuesday ratings commentary.
Fitch said Bharti has significant ratings headroom, supported by its strong market position across diversified businesses and geographies, large EBITDA scale, high profitability, positive free cash flow after dividends and a conservative balance sheet.
The agency expects EBITDA net leverage to fall below 0.5x over the next two to three years, despite higher shareholder returns and capital spending.
It expects the Indian mobile business and Airtel Africa to be the main drivers of EBITDA growth, with consolidated free cash flow margin in the mid-single digits.