Moody's lowers Bharti Airtel

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s Baa3 issuer rating and senior unsecured debt ratings, as well as the Baa3 ratings on the senior unsecured notes issued by Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV, which are irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed by Bharti.

Moody's also said it changed the outlook to negative from stable.

The agency said it continues to expect intense price competition over the next several quarters in the Indian telecoms sector, as operators, such as Bharti, implement plans and tariffs to protect and grow their market shares.

This competition will occur even though ongoing and transformative consolidation in the sector and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.'s tariff plan will help stabilize the industry's average revenue per user (ARPU) over the longer term, Moody's said.

While Bharti recorded 4.3% growth in reported consolidated EBITDA year-over-year as of March 31, 2017, the effects of intense competition in the India mobile services segment were particularly evident in the fourth quarter, the agency said.

This was partially offset by the year-over-year EBITDA growth in non-mobile services in India and healthy EBITDA growth in Africa, Moody's said.

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