PACRA Maintains Entity Ratings of Optimus Capital Management (Pvt.) Limited.

The ratings demonstrate the Optimus Capital Management (Pvt.) Limited’s (“Optimus Capital” or “the Company”) established and sustained position in brokerage industry emanating from healthy client base of institutional client. The ratings take into account the strong ownership structure, whereas, the governance framework can be strengthened further. The Company has a lean organization structure with most of the heads reporting to CEO. Seasoned key management, sound risk assessment and dedicated personnel for compliance function provides further support to the ratings. The ratings of the Company demonstrate the turnaround in financial performance owing to uptick in industry trading volumes however, the ratings are constrained by the company’s significant dependence on equity brokerage operations and limited diversification of revenue stream however, the Company has maintained its market share at 2.5%. The Company doesn't hold proprietary trading book and in usual practice of holding short term investment in Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) which limits the market risk. At the end of 1HFY21, these investments stood at ~PKR 26mln, ~8% of net equity. Zero-leveraged capital structure provides further comfort to ratings. The liquidity profile of the Company is adequate. At the end of 1HFY21 liquid assets to trade related liabilities stood at 1.22x as at 1HFY21 (FY20: 1.34x). At end 1HFY21, the Net Capital Balance (NCB) of the Company stood at ~PKR 191mln, which allows the Company to take exposure up to 25x of its NCB. The Company has an equity base of ~PKR 324mln.
The ratings would remain dependent upon maintenance of performance indicators at sound levels commensurate with the assigned ratings. Retaining market share and sustaining profitability from core operations remain critical. Meanwhile, retention of key management personnel and strengthening process and procedures is important.

About the Entity
Optimus Capital Management (Private) Limited, formerly known as Millennium Capital Management (Pvt) Ltd, was incorporated in 2004. The Company’s prime business is equity brokerage, financial advisory, equity investments research and corporate finance services toindividual and institutional clients.The Company is wholly owned subsidiary of Optimus Holdings (Private) Limited (formerly Peabody Associates Private Limited). The two sponsors of Optimus Holdings, Mr. Asif Ali Qureshi and Mr. Jawad Amjad, have more than two decades of experience in the financial sector of Pakistan. The Company’s board is composed of two directors, Mr. Asif Ali Qureshi and Mr. Muhammad Ovais Ahsan. Mr. Asif is the Executive Chairman and Mr. Ovais
Ahsan is the CEO of the Company.