The credit rating of PJSC Rostelecom (hereinafter, Rostelecom or the Company) has been upgraded due to changes to the assessments of the operational and financial profiles as a result of the application of the updated Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings to Non-Financial Corporations under the National Scale for the Russian Federation.
The credit rating of Rostelecom takes into account state support and the Company’s very strong operational profile (very strong assessments of business, market position, and geography of operations). The Company’s corporate governance is assessed as high. The financial profile assessment takes into account the Company’s very large business size, high profitability, and very high liquidity assessment. The Agency notes the medium debt service coupled with the medium size of debt and a medium cash flow.
Rostelecom is the largest provider of digital services and solutions across all market segments in Russia. The Company provides mobile communication services, broadband internet access, and pay TV services; it is a provider of innovative solutions in e-government services, cybersecurity, regional digitalization, healthcare, biometrics, education, housing and utility services, cloud computing, data center services, etc. Rostelecom is also engaged in import substitution, including software development and telecommunications equipment manufacture.
KEY ASSESSMENT FACTORS
Very strong operational profile. Rostelecom is a leader in a highly concentrated market. The Company maintains its leading position in the broadband market for individuals and corporates, the inter-operator services market, as well as in the segment of digital services for government and businesses. Rostelecom remains the leader in the data center market and ranks second in terms of the largest players of the infrastructure cloud services market (IaaS+PaaS). The share of t2 in the mobile communications segment continues to grow in terms of revenues, while the Wink platform takes second place among Russia’s largest video streaming services by number of paying subscribers.
The Company’s revenues are very well diversified by clusters and segments (B2C, B2B/G, B2O). The share of mobile communications in revenues for 9M 2025 was 35%, digital services was 21%, fixed-line broadband communications was 15%, while the share of wholesale services was 12%. The share of fixed-line voice communications continues to decline amid the active development of online voice technologies and products. Rostelecom successfully operates the clusters Data Center and Cloud Services, Information Security, Digital Regions, Government Digital Services, and Digital Medicine. In addition, in 2024, the X-tech and Zdorovye clusters were formed, as well as a commercial IT cluster and a production cluster for the development and production of ICT equipment by the Company began in order to ensure technological sovereignty.
The Company’s revenues and client base are very well diversified by region. Its own backbone digital communication network with a more than 83 Tbit/s capacity allows the Company to cover the Russian Federation in its entirety. Rostelecom’s data centers are located in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Udomlya, Toltyatti, Adler, Khabarovsk, and Vladivostok. The Company is also carrying out several major international infrastructure projects aimed at expanding capacity and improving the quality of services provided.
The Agency has a very high opinion of the consistent and successful implementation of Rostelecom’s corporate development strategy, robust risk management system, and the management structure. The Company’s board of directors has 11 members. In 2026, the board of directors is expected to adopt a new development strategy for the next five years.
High profitability and very large size of business. FFO before net interest payments and taxes is estimated at RUB 294.9 bln for 2025. The FFO before net interest payments and taxes averaged for 2023–2028 is RUB 300.9 bln, or 13.653 bps of GDP, which, according to ACRA’s methodology, indicates a very large business size. The FFO before net interest payments and taxes margin is assessed at 35% for 2025 (37% in 2024). This margin is expected to be similar in the forecast period. The number of mobile subscribers had grown by 1.7% and amounted to 48.9 mln as of the end of 2024.
Medium coverage and low leverage. The ratio of total debt to FFO before net interest payments was 2.6x in 2024, and is projected to be 2.4x as of the end of 2025. The Agency does not expect leverage to grow in the forecast period. The medium size of debt and the very high qualitative assessment of leverage determine the overall assessment of the Leverage sub-factor as low as per ACRA’s methodology.
The attraction of new debt financing at fixed and floating market rates led to a significant increase in interest payments in 2024. The interest payment coverage indicator (ratio of FFO before net interest payments to interest payments) declined to 3.3x last year. The share of floating-rate loans in the loan portfolio amounted to 40% by the end of Q3 2025. ACRA expects the interest payment coverage metric to weaken to 2.4x by the end of 2025 due to the prolonged period of high rates followed by a recovery as monetary policy is loosened. The weighted average coverage for 2023–2028 is estimated at 3.0x.
Very strong liquidity and medium cash flow. Rostelecom’s liquidity is assessed as very high due to the presence of large amounts of undrawn loans and diversified sources of funding. The Company is active in the bond market and issues short-term digital financial assets.
According to ACRA’s calculations, the FCF margin is positive for 2024–2025, but is around zero. In view of Rostelecom’s announcements about optimizing the investment program, the ratio of capital expenditures (including state subsidies) to revenues may decline from 22% in 2024 to 18% in 2025. The Company’s investment program is mainly aimed at developing new areas of business. In the forecast period, Rostelecom is expected to invest in projects with high financial returns (information security, cloud business, mobile communications development), as well as in mandatory costs to maintain business stability and increase operational efficiency. The Company paid around RUB 28 bln in dividends in 2024. A new dividend policy was approved in April this year, which covers dividend payments in 2025–2027.
State support. There are no legal, economic or other barriers in the way of the Company receiving support from the state. The state provides support and is highly likely to have a significant impact on the operations of the telecommunications sector in general and the Company in particular. At the same time, state support is selective. ACRA also takes into account the fact that Rostelecom is practically an agent of the state’s policy in forming and developing Russia’s digital economy by carrying out federal projects. However, the implementation of state policies is not a priority for the Company (the share of B2G in total revenues amounts to less than 50%). The state controls Rostelecom by indirectly owning 50% plus one ordinary share and has a considerable presence in the Company’s board of directors. There were no explicit guarantees from the supporting entity as of the assessment date. ACRA’s opinion on the degree of extraordinary support from the state is expressed in the addition of a single notch to the Company’s standalone creditworthiness assessment (SCA).
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
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Capital expenditures and dividend payments in line with the Company’s projections in the forecast period;
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Bank of Russia’s annual average key rate at 19% in 2025, 13.5% in 2026, and 9% in 2027;
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Maintaining a substantial amount of undrawn credit lines.
POTENTIAL OUTLOOK OR RATING CHANGE FACTORS
The Stable outlook assumes that the rating will highly likely stay unchanged within the 12 to 18-month horizon.
A negative rating action may be prompted by:
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Weighted average ratio of total debt to FFO before net interest payments exceeding 4.0x and the weighted average ratio of FFO before net interest payments to interest payments declining below 2.5x;
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Significant deterioration of the liquidity profile.
RATING COMPONENTS
SCA: aa+.
Support: state.
ISSUE RATINGS
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-01R (RU000A0JWTN2), maturity date: September 10, 2026, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-03R (RU000A0ZYG52), maturity date: November 9, 2027, issue volume: RUB 10 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-04R (RU000A0ZYYE3), maturity date: March 3, 2028, issue volume: RUB 10 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-05R (RU000A100881), maturity date: March 21, 2029, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-07R (RU000A108GR8), maturity date: May 20, 2027, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-08R (RU000A108LF3), maturity date: September 2, 2027, issue volume: RUB 10 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-09R (RU000A1095W4), maturity date: August 4, 2027, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-10R (RU000A109916), maturity date: August 14, 2026, issue volume: RUB 10 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-11R (RU000A109JS8), maturity date: September 13, 2027, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-12R (RU000A109X29), maturity date: April 21, 2026, issue volume: RUB 13.5 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-14R (RU000A10ASS2), maturity date: May 29, 2026, issue volume: RUB 18 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-15R (RU000A10B214), maturity date: March 2, 2027, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-16R (RU000A10BG13), maturity date: April 12, 2027, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-17R (RU000A10BSL5), maturity date: September 29, 2027, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-18R (RU000A10BTC2), maturity date: June 8, 2027, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-19R (RU000A10CMD3), maturity date: October 22, 2027, issue volume: RUB 20 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-20R (RU000A10CT41), maturity date: September 7, 2028, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 001P-21R (RU000A10DCJ9), maturity date: October 22, 2027, issue volume: RUB 30 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 002P-02R (RU000A101FG8), maturity date: February 10, 2027, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 002P-06R (RU000A103EZ7), maturity date: July 17, 2026, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 002P-07R (RU000A104TD0), maturity date: May 8, 2026, issue volume: RUB 5 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 002P-09R (RU000A1051E5), maturity date: January 29, 2026, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 002P-10R (RU000A105UU9), maturity date: February 11, 2026, issue volume: RUB 10 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 002P-11R (RU000A106T93), maturity date: August 27, 2026, issue volume: RUB 10 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 002P-13R (RU000A107910), maturity date: February 20, 2026, issue volume: RUB 15 bln — AAA(RU).
Bonds of PJSC Rostelecom, series 002P-14R (RU000A1085D5), maturity date: April 1, 2026, issue volume: RUB 10 bln — AAA(RU).
Rationale. The above issues represent senior unsecured debt of Rostelecom. Due to the absence of either structural or contractual subordination of the issues, ACRA regards them as equal to other existing and future unsecured and unsubordinated debt obligations of the Company in terms of priority. According to ACRA’s methodology, given the high creditworthiness of the Company and the absence of secured debt, the Agency applies the simplified approach, and therefore the credit rating of the bonds is equivalent to that of Rostelecom, i.e. AAA(RU).
REGULATORY DISCLOSURE
The credit ratings have been assigned to PJSC Rostelecom and the bond issues of PJSC Rostelecom based on the following methodologies: the Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings to Non-Financial Corporations under the National Scale for the Russian Federation to calculate the SCA and determine the credit rating and the credit rating outlook of PJSC Rostelecom under the national scale for the Russian Federation, Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings to Financial Instruments under the National Scale for the Russian Federation to determine the credit ratings of the bond issues under the national scale for the Russian Federation, Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings with External Support to determine factors of external influence, and the Key Concepts Used by the Analytical Credit Rating Agency within the Scope of Its Rating Activities to ensure consistent and uniform application of ACRA’s methodologies, rating scales, models, and key rating assumptions.
The credit rating of PJSC Rostelecom assigned under the national scale for the Russian Federation was published by ACRA for the first time on July 14, 2017. The credit ratings of the bond issues assigned under the national scale for the Russian Federation were published by ACRA for the first time on: (ISIN RU000A0ZYYE3) — March 16, 2018, (ISIN RU000A0ZYG52) — November 21, 2017, (ISIN RU000A100881) — April 3, 2019, (ISIN RU000A101FG8) — February 19, 2020, (ISIN RU000A103EZ7) — July 23, 2021, (ISIN RU000A104TD0) — May 13, 2022, (ISIN RU000A1051E5) — August 4, 2022, (ISIN RU000A105UU9) — February 15, 2023, (ISIN RU000A106T93) — August 31, 2023, (ISIN RU000A107910) — November 24, 2023, (ISIN RU000A1085D5) — April 3, 2024, (ISIN RU000A108GR8) — May 23, 2024, (ISIN RU000A108LF3) — June 6, 2024, (ISIN RU000A1095W4) — August 7, 2024, (ISIN RU000A109916) — August 16, 2024, (ISIN RU000A109JS8) — September 16, 2024, (ISIN RU000A0JWTN2) — September 25, 2024, (ISIN RU000A109X29) — October 28, 2024, (ISIN RU000A10ASS2) — February 3, 2025, (ISIN RU000A10B214) — March 12, 2025, (ISIN RU000A10BG13) — April 22, 2025, (ISIN RU000A10BSL5) — June 11, 2025, (ISIN RU000A10BTC2) — June 18, 2025, (ISIN RU000A10CMD3) — September 2, 2025, (ISIN RU000A10CT41) — September 23, 2025, (ISIN RU000A10DCJ9) — November 1, 2025.
The credit rating of PJSC Rostelecom and its outlook, as well as the credit ratings of the bond issues of PJSC Rostelecom, are expected to be revised within one year following the publication date of this press release.
The credit ratings were assigned are based on data provided by PJSC Rostelecom information from publicly available sources, and own databases. The rating analysis was performed using the IFRS accounting (financial) statements of PJSC Rostelecom as of December 31, 2024.
The credit ratings are solicited and PJSC Rostelecom participated in their assignment.
In assigning the credit ratings, ACRA used only information, the quality and reliability of which were, in ACRA’s opinion, appropriate and sufficient to apply the methodologies.
ACRA provided the following additional services to PJSC Rostelecom during the year preceding the rating action: assessment of sustainability-linked debt obligations from August 20, 2021 to August 20, 2025.
No conflicts of interest were discovered in the course of credit rating assignment.
