Credit Rating- Revision

bhartl June 24, 2026 National Stock Exchange of India Limited Exchange Plaza, C-1 Block G Sandra Kurla Complex, Sandra (E) Mumbai - 400051, India Symbol: BHARTIARTL/ AIRTELPP BSE Limited Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers Dalal Street, Mumbai -400001, India Scrip Code: 532454/ 890157 Sub: Intimation under SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 ('SEBI Listing Regulations') - Revision in Credit Rating/ Outlook Dear Sir/ Ma'am, We hereby inform the following revisions in the Credit Rating/ Outlook for the Company: Erstwhile Credit Revised Credit Credit Rating Agency Type of rating Rating/ Outlook Ratina/Outlook Issuer Credit Rating BBB/Positive BBB+/Stable S&P Global Ratings Senior Unsecured Debt BBB BBB+ The report from the Credit Rating Agency covering, inter-alia, the rationale for aforesaid revision, is enclosed. The above intimation is being made under Regulations 30 and other applicable provisions of the SEBI Listing Regulations and applicable circular(s) issued thereunder. Please take the above information on record. Thanking you, Encl.: As above Bharti Airtel Limited (a Bharti Enterprise) Regd. Office: Airtel Center, Plot No. 16, Udyog Vihar, Phase-IV, Gurugram -122015, India Corporate Office: Bharti Crescent, 1, Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj, Phase 11, New Delhi -110070, India T.: +91-124-4222222, F.: +91-124-4248063, Email: compliance.officer@bharti.in, Website: www.airtel.in CIN: L74899HR1995PLC095967 Research Update: Bharti Airtel Ltd. Upgraded To 'BBB+' On High Growth In Africa And India, And Balance Sheet Discipline June 24, 2026 Primary Contact Rating Action Overview Ker liang Chan • Growing data consumption in high-growth markets of India and Africa will drive higher earnings Singapore for Bharti Airtel and support the paying down of debt. 65-6216-1068 Ker.liang.Chan • We expect the India-based telecom company to prudently manage its balance sheet and @spglobal.com operate at lower leverage than before. Secondary Contact • On June 24, 2026, S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit ratings on Bharti Airtel to 'BBB+' from 'BBB'. At the same time, we raised our ratings on the senior unsecured debt the Yijing Ng company issued to 'BBB+' from 'BBB'. Singapore 65-6216-1170 • The stable outlook reflects our view that Bharti Airtel will pay down debt as earnings and cash yijing.ng flows rise, while maintaining a supportive leverage tolerance for the 'BBB+' rating over the next @spglobal.com 12-24 months. Rating Action Rationale Growing data consumption and a fundamental improvement in Indian and African telco markets will help expand Bharti Airtel's earnings. In India, we project Bharti Airtel’s subscriber numbers to increase by 3%-4% over the next year and average revenue per user to grow by 5%- 7%. Bharti Airtel's India operations will benefit from higher consumer spending on telco services, as well as subscriber additions. This will stem from growing data consumption and the company's efforts in driving premiumization. Churn from other players will also support earnings growth in India. Operating performance at Bharti Airtel's African businesses is stronger than we expect, and we anticipate it will outpace India's business earnings over the next 12-24 months. Under our base case, we project the African customer base to grow 9%-11% annually, and 5%-7% annual growth in ARPU in U.S. dollars through the fiscal year ending March 31, 2028. The rebasing of Africa's www.spglobal.com/ratingsdirect June 24, 2026 1 Bharti Airtel Ltd. Upgraded To 'BBB+' On High Growth In Africa And India, And Balance Sheet Discipline earnings also reflects their local currencies' relative strength against the Indian rupee (INR), which has depreciated 5%-7% against the U.S. dollar over the past six months. We forecast the company's consolidated EBITDA will increase by 8%-10% annually over the subsequent two years, after a 28.0% increase in fiscal 2026 (year ending March 31). Over the same period, we estimate that Africa earnings will rise to 25%-27% of Bharti Airtel's consolidated EBITDA, up from our previous estimates of about 20%. Expanding earnings and higher operating cash flows can help offset rising capital expenditure (capex) and dividends. Bharti Airtel will likely increase capital spending to fund new growth drivers. We forecast capex to rise annually and reach about INR565 billion by fiscal 2028, up 25% from INR452 billion in fiscal 2026. The company will use the increased capex for its data center business (Nxtra Data Ltd.), cloud services, and its African operations. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel's India financial services segment would require more capital investments as it ramps up more meaningfully over the next few years. We do not anticipate that the company will need to spend large amounts on spectrum auctions at least until fiscal 2030, when its next band of spectrums will be up for renewal. Bharti Airtel's dividends will likely continue to step up. We forecast total cash dividends will rise to about INR230 billion in fiscal 2027 and about INR350 billion in fiscal 2028. This follows a 65%-75% annual increase in the past two fiscal years from a low base. Even with higher discretionary spending, we think rising earnings will help discretionary cash flow (DCF) remain more than adequate. Under our base case, we project annual adjusted DCF (after lease capex) to be INR220 billion-INR240 billion through fiscal 2028. We believe Bharti Airtel will build ample financial flexibility at the 'BBB+' ratings. Strong discretionary cash flow will drive further deleveraging. We forecast the company's ratio of funds from operations (FFO) to debt will be 50%-52% in fiscal 2027 and approach about 60% in fiscal 2028. This compares with our estimate of 43.8% in fiscal 2026. Unless there are any transformational events in the company or industry, this balance sheet capacity will accumulate over time. The company's incentive to continue reducing debt is likely to diminish over time given we project its leverage to be lower than the Asia Pacific telco median. If so, the company could undertake other capital allocation decisions, such as acquisitions and higher shareholder returns. Even without considering any earnings accretion from acquisitions, we estimate Bharti Airtel can tolerate an outlay of more than INR800 billion and keep its FFO-to-debt ratio above 45% in fiscal 2028. In addition to our expectation of strong free cash flow, Bharti Airtel has strong access to debt and equity capital markets. For example, the company raised about INR220 billion (about 10% of adjusted debt) in March 2026 by calling on the remaining rights issue in 2021 (INR157 billion) and raising US$1 billion (about INR95 billion) cash proceeds at Nxtra Data Ltd. (Of this, Bharti Airtel contributed US$290 million). Debt at Bharti Airtel's parent will remain a watchpoint. This is because Bharti Telecom Ltd. has no operations of its own aside from owning equity stakes in Bharti Airtel. Even though Bharti Telecom has in the past raised equity to service its own financial obligations, the rising debt level carries the risk of depending on dividends from Bharti Airtel to service its debt. www.spglobal.com/ratingsdirect June 24, 2026 2 Bharti Airtel Ltd. Upgraded To 'BBB+' On High Growth In Africa And India, And Balance Sheet Discipline We believe there are substantial rights conferred by the shareholder agreement between the two key shareholders toward the strategy and cash flows of Bharti Airtel. Consequently, we do not add debt at Bharti Telecom to our adjusted metrics for Bharti Airtel. However, we will continue to monitor any material change to the previously mentioned arrangement, which, if results in unilateral rights to any single party, can cause us to reevaluate the approach. Debt at Bharti Telecom could rise further. Over the past five years, Bharti Telecom has largely raised debt to acquire equity stakes in Bharti Airtel, including subscribing to the compan [Showing first 8,000 characters — download PDF for full document]