Author

  • Sree Rama Murthy Y

    • Sultan Qaboos University, Al Khod, Sultanate of Oman
    • Oman

Abstract

This paper looks at the impact of level of working capital on a firm’s financial performance of 153 large manufacturing firms operating in the six Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC).Three hypotheses being tested in the paper are that working capital levels and inventory levels have a negative impact on corporate financial performance, have a positive impact on corporate financial performance, or that there is no empirically provable relationship between working capital and inventory and financial performance. A number of control variables including firm size, gross margins, and age of the firm are used in the regression analysis, as financial performance is not purely dependent on working capital and inventory levels. Pre-tax return on assets (ROA-profit before tax divided by total assets) is used to measure corporate financial performance. Performance is strongly influenced by levels of accounts receivables; however inventory levels and payables have no impact on performance.

Keywords

References

  • Andersen, R. (2008). Modern Methods for Robust Regression. Sage University Paper Series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 07-152.
  • Azhar, N. & Noriza, M. (2010). Working Capital Management: The Effect of Market Valuation and Profitability in Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management , 5(11), 140-147.
  • Bushman, R. M., Smith, A. J. & Zhang, F. (2011). Investment Cash Flow Sensitivities Really Reflect Related Investment Decisions (August 5, 2011). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=842085 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.842085
  • Deloof, M. (2003). Does Working Capital Management Affect Profitability of Belgian Firms? Journal of Business Finance and Accounting , 30, 573-587.
  • Greene, W. (2000). Econometric Analysis , Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall.
  • Gujarati, D. N. (2003). Basic Econometrics , Fourth Edition, McGraw-Hill.
  • Heath, L. C. (1989). Is Working Capital Really Working? Journal of Accountancy , 3, 55-62.
  • Maness, T. S. & Zietlow, J. (2005). Short Term Financial Management , 3rd edition, South Western.
  • Petersen, M. A. & Rajan, R. G. (1997). Trade Credit: Theories and Evidence. Review of Financial Studies , 10, 661-691.
  • Rathiranee, Y. (2014). Working Capital Management and its Impact on Firms’ Financial Performance: An Analysis of Trading Firms Sri Lanka. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2444311
  • Richards, V. & Laughlin, E. (1980). A cash conversion cycle approach to liquidity analysis, Financial Management, 32-38
  • Lazaridis, I. & Dimitrios, T. (2006). Relationship between Working Capital Management and Profitability of Listed Companies in the Athens Stock Exchange. Journal of Financial Management and Analysis , 19(1), January-June 2006. Available at SSRN: h ttp://ssrn.com/abstract=931591
  • Mansoori, E. & Muhammad, D. J. (2012). The Effect of Working Capital Management on Firm’s Profitability: Evidence from Singapore (March 6, 2012). Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business , 4(5).
  • Martínez-Solano, P. & García-Teruel, P. J. (2006). Effects of Working Capital Management on SME Profitability. April 2006. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=894865 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.894865.
  • Peel, M. & Wilson, N. (1996). Working Capital and Financial Management Practices In The Small Firm Sector. International Small Business Journal , 14(2), 52-68.
  • Sen, M. & Oruc, E. (2009). Relationship between Efficiency Level of Working Capital Management and Return on Total Assets in Ise. International Journal of Business and Management , 4 (10, 109-114.
  • Smith, K. (1980). Profitability versus Liquidity Tradeoffs in Working Capital Management. Readings on the Management of Working Capital. Ed. K.V. Smith, West Publishing Company, 549-562.
  • Shin, H. H. & Soenen, L. (1998). Efficiency of Working Capital and Corporate Profitability. Financial Practice and Education , 8, 37-45.
  • Thuvarakan, S. (2013). Impact of Working Capital Management on Profitability in UK Manufacturing Industry (September 27, 2013). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2345804 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2345804
  • Zietlow, J., Maness, T. S. & Hill, M. (2013). Short Term Financial Management , 4th edition, Cognella.

Downloads

No downloads have been recorded for this article yet. Figures appear here once readers begin downloading the full text.

How to Cite

Murthy, S. R. (2015). Working Capital, Financing Constraints and Firm Financial Performance in GCC Countries. Information Management and Business Review, 7(3), 59-64. https://doi.org/10.22610/imbr.v7i3.1154

Share this article

Section

Research Paper

Published

2015-06-30

Submissions

Have research to publish? Information Management and Business Review welcomes submissions.

Make a Submission