Press Release

VIS Reaffirms Broker Management Rating of Next Capital Limited

Karachi, November 01, 2023: VIS Credit Rating Company Ltd. (VIS) has reaffirmed the Broker Management Rating of Next Capital Limited (NCL) at ‘BMR2++’. Outlook on the assigned rating is ‘Stable’. The previous rating action was announced on June 21, 2022.

The rating signifies strong external controls as well as compliance & risk management. Regulatory requirements, supervisory framework, internal controls, client relationship, HR & infrastructure are considered sound while financial management is considered adequate.

The assigned rating takes into account the Company’s sound regulatory and supervisory framework. The board of directors consists of seven members wherein three are sponsoring members, collectively holding approximately 51% of the Company’s shareholding while 2 other members are independent. Additionally, the company has 4 board committees namely audit committee, risk management committee, investment committee and HR committee, boding well for its governance framework. Assigned rating also draws support from the Company’s diversified revenue base, with income from advisory and consultancy providing support to the Company’s revenue mix.

Compliance and risk management of the Company is considered strong. The Company’s internal audit, compliance and risk department all operate independently which is noted positively. The Company has risk management policy in place whereby different procedures are catered to different categories of clients. Moreover, Company extends no credit limits to the retail clients. External control framework is considered strong given sound level of transparency and disclosure. Internal control framework is considered sound, however, scope of internal policies, including employee trading policy and conflict of interest policy, may be further enhanced in order to strengthen the internal control framework. The Company has employed electronic trading platforms through mobile and web-based trading to assist clients. Nonetheless, Investor grievance procedures may be enhanced through greater visibility of complaint registering and tracking on the Company’s website.

Financial profile of the Company depicts deterioration in the earning profile during 9MFY23 primarily driven by the decline in the brokerage income despite higher income from advisory and consultancy vis-à-vis same period last year, consequently leading to operating losses and worsening in cost to income ratio. Conversely, liquidity profile of the Company has shown a considerable improvement. Equity of the Company has witnessed a decline owing to the losses incurred by the Company while gearing and leverage ratios remain manageable. Going forward, augmenting revenue base and equity along with managing operational expenses will remain important for rating.

For further information on this rating announcement, please contact Mr. Shaheryar Khan (Ext: 209) or the undersigned (Ext: 106) at (021) 35311861-64 or email at info@vis.com.pk.



Muhammad Bilal Aftab
Director

Applicable Rating Criteria: Broker Management Ratings 2020
https://docs.vis.com.pk/docs/BMR202007.pdf

VIS Rating Scale
https://docs.vis.com.pk/docs/VISRatingScales.pdf

Information herein was obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable; however, VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (VIS) does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.VIS , the analysts involved in the rating process and members of its rating committee do not have any conflict of interest relating to the rating(s)/ranking(s) mentioned in this report.VIS is paid a fee for most rating assignments. This rating/ranking is an opinion and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Copyright 2023 VIS Credit Rating Company Limited . All rights reserved. Contents may be used by news media with credit to VIS .