Bharti Airtel jumped 4.86% to Rs 299.70 at 11:47 IST on BSE after global ratings agency Standard and Poor's upgraded its issuer rating of the company to 'BBB-'.
The company made the announcement during trading hours today, 7 March 2014.
Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 346.12 points, or 1.61%, to 21,859.99.
On BSE, so far 3.49 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 3.29 lakh shares in the past one quarter.
The stock hit a high of Rs 301.10 and a low of Rs 287.60 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 373.50 on 1 November 2013. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 266.95 on 5 April 2013.
The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 6 March 2014, sliding 9.34% compared with the Sensex's 5.92% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 13.95% as against Sensex's 2.46% rise.
The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 1998.70 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.
Bharti Airtel said that Standard and Poor's Rating Services (S&P) has upgraded its issuer rating of the company to 'BBB-'. The rating assigned a stable outlook, which is also above the credit rating outlook assigned to India by S&P, reflecting the company's ability to withstand sovereign stress, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
Bharti Airtel said it now carries a stable investment grade rating from all 3 major rating agencies - S&P (BBB-; Stable), Moody's (Baa3;Stable) and Fitch (BBB-; Stable).
The rating reflects Bharti's strong market leadership, business diversity, strong financial profile and the improving regulatory and competitive environment in India. According to S&P, Bharti has an adequate liquidity profile, and anticipates that the net sources of liquidity will remain positive even if EBITDA declines by 15%.
Mr. Harjeet Kohli, Group Treasurer, said, "The investment grade rating by all the 3 major agencies is a correct reflection of the strength of our business. The consistent ratings give us an even better access to global capital markets to continue to diversify our sources of funding and lengthening the tenors of our debt. S&Ps assessment also reflects on our ability to withstand a sovereign stress."
On Tuesday, 4 March 2014, Bharti Airtel said Airtel Networks Kenya (Airtel Kenya) has sought an approval from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), to acquire the telecommunications licenses and subscribers of Essar Telecom Kenya, which operates under the brand name 'yuMobile'.
The proposed arrangement envisages over 2.7 million customers of Essar Telecom Kenya becoming part of Airtel Kenya's mobile network. The proposed association will undergo seamless integration once definitive agreements are signed, and requisite regulatory and statutory approvals are received, the company said in a statement.
Last month, Nigeria's telecoms regulator Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) fined mobile operators MTN, Airtel and Globacom a combined 647.5 million naira and banned them from selling SIM cards in March due to poor service, it said on Thursday, 27 February 2014.
South Africa's MTN and Airtel, which is owned by Bharti Airtel, were each fined 185 million naira, while Globacom was fined 277.5 million naira, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said in a statement.
The NCC will charge each company 2.5 million naira for every day the fine is not paid after 7 March 2014, it said. Apart from the fine, all the three operators were barred by NCC from selling new SIM cards throughout the month of March 2014, with effect from 1 March to 31 March.
The penalties were imposed because the operators had failed to meet key performance indicators (KPIs) and poor quality of service for the month of January 2014, the NCC said.
On a consolidated basis, Bharti Airtel's net profit surged 115.1% to Rs 610.20 crore on 13.3% growth in net sales to Rs 21938.50 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012.
Bharti Airtel is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 287 million customers across its operations at the end of December 2013.
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