Dividend Pay-Out Policy and Company Financial Performance in Kenya

This research is financed by the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Programme Abstract Dividend Payout has been a pertinent issue for both organisations and investors. Most investors prefer to invest or retain their investments in companies which declare dividends regardless of their cash flows. Companies, therefore, strive to maintain dividend payment to send positive shockwaves to investors to promote investor confidence.  The objective of this study was, therefore, to ratify whether dividend payout is significant in making investment decisions. The study further sought to establish the implication dividend payment has on the financial performance of listed companies in the energy and petroleum sector in Kenya. The study used Secondary data from all the five listed companies in the energy and petroleum sector for the period 2007-2017. A descriptive design was deemed appropriate for the research. The dividend payout ratio was used as the independent variable of the study while Return on Equity and Return on Assets were the dependent variables of this study. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine relationships between the predictor and the dependent variable. Keyword: Bankruptcy Prediction, Dividend Pay-out Ratio, Financial Performance, Ratio Analysis DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-10-24 Publication date:May 31st 201

Stakeholders' perspectives on the operationalisation of the ecosystem service concept : Results from 27 case studies

The ecosystem service (ES) concept is becoming mainstream in policy and planning, but operational influence on practice is seldom reported. Here, we report the practitioners' perspectives on the practical implementation of the ES concept in 27 case studies. A standardised anonymous survey (n = 246), was used, focusing on the science-practice interaction process, perceived impact and expected use of the case study assessments. Operationalisation of the concept was shown to achieve a gradual change in practices: 13% of the case studies reported a change in action (e.g. management or policy change), and a further 40% anticipated that a change would result from the work. To a large extent the impact was attributed to a well conducted science-practice interaction process (>70%). The main reported advantages of the concept included: increased concept awareness and communication; enhanced participation and collaboration; production of comprehensive science-based knowledge; and production of spatially referenced knowledge for input to planning (91% indicated they had acquired new knowledge). The limitations were mostly case-specific and centred on methodology, data, and challenges with result implementation. The survey highlighted the crucial role of communication, participation and collaboration across different stakeholders, to implement the ES concept and enhance the democratisation of nature and landscape planning. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

The Contribution of Microfinance Institutions on Poverty Reduction Among Women in Dar es Salaam

MFI sector plays an important role in poverty reduction in the economy especially of the less developed countries. This role is like the heart to the human body to pump the financial resources that are necessary for the economic growth and well being of a nation and its people. This research focused on the contribution of the microfinance sector on poverty reduction efforts among women in Dar es Salaam. Poverty reduction was looked at four major variables namely income, employment level, saving and assets ownership by female entrepreneurs. In order to analyze the contribution of the microfinance institutions on the above mentioned parameters, primary data were collected through questionnaire from 100 respondents. The research found that, there was a significant decrease in poverty among women as recognized and proved by an increase in income, employment level, saving and assets ownership to them as a result of loans from the MFIs. Despite of these achievements, it is recommended that the microfinance sector should invest in advertising its services so that more poor people are recruited by them. Again there is a need for them to expand their services to rural areas where a rate of poverty is higher rather than concentrating in urban are

Corporate Bankruptcy Prediction Model, a Special Focus on Listed Companies in Kenya

Predicting bankruptcy of companies has been a hot subject of focus for many economists. The rationale for developing and predicting the financial distress of a company is to develop a predictive model used to forecast the financial condition of a company by combining several econometric variables of interest to the researcher. The study sought to introduce deep learning models for corporate bankruptcy forecasting using textual disclosures. The study constructed a comprehensive study model for predicting bankruptcy based on listed companies in Kenya. The study population included all 64 listed companies in the Nairobi Securities Exchange for ten years. Logistic analysis was used in building a model for predicting the financial distress of a company. The findings revealed that asset turnover, total asset, and working capital ratio had positive coefficients. On the other hand, inventory turnover, debt-equity ratio, debtors turnover, debt ratio, and current ratio had negative coefficients. The study concluded that inventory turnover, asset turnover, debt-equity ratio, debtors turnover, total asset, debt ratio, current ratio, and working capital ratio were the most significant ratios for predicting bankruptcy

Stakeholders’ perspectives on the operationalisation of the ecosystem service concept: results from 27 case studies

The ecosystem service (ES) concept is becoming mainstream in policy and planning, but operational influence on practice is seldom reported. Here, we report the practitioners’ perspectives on the practical implementation of the ES concept in 27 case studies. A standardised anonymous survey (n=246), was used, focusing on the science-practice interaction process, perceived impact and expected use of the case study assessments. Operationalisation of the concept was shown to achieve a gradual change in practices: 13% of the case studies reported a change in action (e.g. management or policy change), and a further 40% anticipated that a change would result from the work. To a large extent the impact was attributed to a well conducted science-practice interaction process (>70%). The main reported advantages of the concept included: increased concept awareness and communication; enhanced participation and collaboration; production of comprehensive science-based knowledge; and production of spatially referenced knowledge for input to planning (91% indicated they had acquired new knowledge). The limitations were mostly case-specific and centred on methodology, data, and challenges with result implementation. The survey highlighted the crucial role of communication, participation and collaboration across different stakeholders, to implement the ES concept and enhance the democratisation of nature and landscape planning.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource