Macquarie has initiated coverage on India's telecom sector with a bullish outlook on Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom.
On Bharti Hexacom, Macquarie has projected that the growth and return metrics may follow a similar path compared to Airtel's India Mobile operations. The brokerage issued an 'Outperform' rating with a target price of Rs 1,480 per share, indicating an upside of 31 percent.
Macquarie also hiked the rating on Bharti Airtel from 'Neutral' to 'Outperform', with a price target of Rs 1,630 apiece as against Rs 1,280 earlier, implying a 11 percent upside.
Macquarie backed the constructive earnings and de-leveraging thesis for Airtel, and said the Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) should improve from 10 percent to around 18-20 percent by FY28.
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Indus Towers and Vodafone Idea, however, saw 'Underperform' ratings from Macquarie.
The brokerage initiated coverage on Vodafone with a target price of Rs 10 per share, implying a 37 percent downside from current prices. The debt-laden telecom player has fundamental challenges which may remain, it said, adding that the market share may see continued erosion. Macquarie added that there is a meaningful risk of further equity dilution.
On Indus Towers, Macquarie has projected expectations of muted earnings, with a revenue/EPS CAGR of around five percent over FY24-27. However, it hiked the target price to Rs 310 from Rs 280 earlier.
At 11.50 am, Bharti Airtel were 0.8 percent higher on the NSE, quoting Rs 1,483 apiece. Bharti Hexacom traded 1.5 percent higher at Rs 1,144, while Indus Towers was up nearly two percent at Rs 410 apiece.
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