On September 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the rating of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC to 'BBB-' From 'BB+', the rating agency informed.
S&P's current rating is aligned with its assessment on MTS stand-alone credit profile (SACP). The rating upgrade followed a similar rating action in relation to Sistema PJSC, the parent company of MTS. Given that S&P continues to view MTS as an insulated subsidiary of Sistema and its operating and financial performance are independent from those of Sistema, the company is rated two notches above Sistema.
The outlook is stable, reflecting that on Sistema, as well as S&P's expectation that MTS' adjusted leverage ratio will remain below 2.5x.
Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS, tax number: 7740000076) and its subsidiaries provide services to about 100 million subscribers in Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Turkmenistan. The company also provides fixed-line telephony and cable television services in all federal districts of Russia and in Ukraine. The company's authorized capital is RUB 199.84 million. It consists of 1,998,381,575 placed ordinary shares.
IFRS revenue of MTS for the first half of 2020 increased by 5% to RUB 237.339 billion from RUB 225.997 billion a year earlier. Adjusted OIBDA decreased by 0.4% to RUB 103.007 billion from RUB 103.394 billion, operating profit by 5.8% to RUB 52.408 billion from RUB 55.641 billion. Adjusted net profit attributable to the company as part of Sistema increased by 14.5% to RUB 15.376 billion from RUB 13.429 billion.
