Web-Based Corporate Environmental Reporting in Nigeria: A Study of Listed Companies

This paper basically examined the utilization of the Internet for communicating corporate environmental information by listed financial and non-financial companies in Nigeria. The sample for the study consists of 30 firms listed on the Nigerian stock exchange. While the content analysis technique was used as a basis for eliciting data from the corporate websites of the selected firms, the student t-test statistics was used to find out whether there is a significant difference in the level of web-based corporate environmental disclosure between financial and non-financial firms in Nigeria. In addition, the linear regression method of data analysis was employed to investigate whether there is a relationship between the financial performance of firms and the level of corporate environmental disclosures of the selected listed firms in Nigeria. The paper as part of its findings observed that there is no significant difference in the level of web-based corporate environmental disclosure between listed financial and non-financial firms in the Nigeria stock exchang

AN EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECTS OF OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE AND FINANCIAL LEVERAGE ON THE DIVIDEND POLICIES OF LISTED FIRMS IN NIGERIA

In an attempt to provide a developing economy perspective to the corporate dividend puzzle, this study basically examined the effects of ownership structure and financial leverage on the dividend payouts of firms operating in Nigeria. Using the judgmental sampling technique, a sample of 50 selected listed firms from the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market where analyzed using the annual reports for the period 2006 to 2010. The choice of the selected firms’ arises based on the capital structure and the availability of data for the listed firms. The regression analysis method was employed as a statistical technique for analyzing the data collected from the annual report of the selected firms. Findings from the paper revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between ownership structure and the dividend payout of the sampled firms in Nigeria. In addition, the paper revealed that there is a significant negative relationship between financial leverages and the dividend payout of firms. Thus the paper concludes that while the ownership structure of firms in terms of equity interest appear to have a visible and significant effect on dividend payout of firms, on the other hand, the financial leverage have a very significant negative impact on firms corporate dividend payout policies

An Empirical Examination of the Relationship between Capital Structure and the Financial Performance of Firms in Nigeria

This paper basically investigates the relationship between capital structure and the financial performance of listed firms in Nigeria. The study considered a total sample of 31 listed firms on the floor of the Nigerian stock exchange. The annual reports for the period 2005-2009 were analyzed using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique of model estimation to test the research propositions stated in this study. The study observed that two of the explanatory variables in this study (i.e. short-term debt and shareholders’ funds) have a significant positive impact on the financial performance of listed firms in Nigeria. In addition, the study observed that long-term debt has a significant negative impact on the financial performance of firms. To this end the study concludes that employing high proportion of long-term debt in firms’ capital structure will invariably result in a low financial performance of a firm