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The company's top boss also said it would not recast new accounts soon and that its profitability was not impacted to the level of 50 per cent as market buzz would have it.
FT’s shares on the BSE exchange plunged as much as 10.25 per cent to close at Rs 150.20 on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting here, Jignesh Shah, chairman, said he was attending an AGM after a few years to show his solidarity and commitment to the shareholders.
“I strongly believe I have an equal responsibility to FT minority shareholders. At the same time, we understand the pain of the investors and I am going to have a dialogue with the NSEL Investors Forum. Please understand that this company should not be judged by NSEL,” said Shah.
He said one should not take away the credit of this institution, noting it had built exchanges such as MCX, MCX-SX, IEX and FT itself. “Financial markets is our dear customer,” said Shah, who said he understand the pain caused by NSEL.
Shah urged the investors forum to work with the company. He said the company would work to its entire capacity in going after those which had actually taken the money in the current crisis. “And, if we can get any support from the government, it will be desirable and I fully understand the government's stand — it’s an unregulated exchange and you all know that we have been a victim and the fraud has happened, whatever it is,” said Shah, who declined to elaborate on what support he required from the government. “Soon, we will come out with a formal paper,” he said.
On how much time it would take to set things right, Shah replied: “You have to ask Lord Balaji. What I can say is we want to focus. The more of a combined force we are, we will be able to recover. First, I will meet the investors’ forum. My individual thoughts may not be of that great importance; let us be institutionalised.”
On Deloitte, the auditors of NSEL, withdrawing their audit report, he said: “It will be recast, based on NSEL’s new feedback.” The audit report was withdrawn on September 21; it had been signed before the NSEL payment crisis broke out. NSEL’s revenues are regrouped in FT's balance sheet.
On Tuesday, FT told the BSE it had postponed its shareholders' vote on adoption of the balance sheet and profit and loss accounts for the year ended March 31, 2013.
To a question on the market buzz that FT's profitability was impacted by almost 50 per cent, he said, “People say it was 50 per cent but it was not. The total gross profit margin was more than Rs 500 crore and Rs 300 crore from the international exchange. So, it is not 50 per cent.”
