Bharti Airtel Ltd's shares fell 4.5 percent on Tuesday to a near eight-week low, after ratings agency Moody's Investors Service downgraded some notes of India's second-largest telecoms company by subscribers. Airtel, once seen as the bellwether of the domestic telecoms industry, posted a nearly 72 percent fall in quarterly profit last Thursday, suffering from continuing pricing pressure.
The telecoms industry is still reeling from the impact of a price war which began after the entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, owned by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani.
The shake-up resulted in industry consolidation such as London-based Vodafone Plc merging its Indian operations with Idea Cellular in a deal worth $23 billion, making it the biggest telecoms company.
Moody's downgraded the senior unsecured rating for Airtel and the backed senior unsecured notes issued by unit Bharti Airtel Int'l (Netherlands) B.V. to 'Ba1' from 'Baa3' on Tuesday.
The agency withdrew the company's 'Baa3' issuer rating and said the outlook is negative.
"The downgrade reflects uncertainty as to whether or not the company's profitability, cash flow situation and debt levels can improve sustainably and materially, given the competitive dynamics in the Indian telco market," Annalisa DiChiara,
Moody's vice president and senior credit officer, said in a note.
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