Crisil Upgrades Bharti Airtel’s Rating to 'AAA' On Strong 2024-25 Performance

Crisil Ratings on Thursday upgraded Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s long-term credit rating to 'AAA' from 'AA+' and changed the outlook to 'stable' from 'positive', citing stronger business and financial risk profiles in 2024-25. The short-term rating on the telecom major's facilities and commercial papers was reaffirmed at 'A1+'.

The upgrade reflects Bharti Airtel’s increasing market share in the domestic mobile segment, robust growth in average revenue per user (ARPU), and improved return metrics. The company’s ARPU rose 17% in 2024-25 to ₹245, aided by June 2024 tariff hikes of 17–19%. Return on capital employed improved to 17.6% from 15% a year ago.

Crisil also highlighted the company’s broad business diversification, stable African operations, and strong financial flexibility, though it flagged ongoing technological risks. The company has funded its capital expenditure entirely through internal accruals, with no fresh debt, and Crisil expects continued strong profitability and easing capex to support steady deleveraging.