FINANCIAL STRUCTURE AND EARNING PER SHARE OF FIRMS OF QUOTED CONSUMER GOODS MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between Financial Structure and earning per share of firms with particular reference to quoted consumer goods manufacturing firms in Nigeria from 2001 to 2016. The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of financial structure on the earning per share of these firms. Twenty-one listed firms listed in the capital market during this period were identified for the study. Quasi-experimental design was adopted as panel data obtained from Nigerian Stock Exchange Fact-Book was used for the study. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) technique was used to estimate relationship between financial structure and earning per share (EPS). T-test Statistics was used in testing the hypothesis formulated for the study. The test of the hypotheses revealed that there is no significant relationship between financial structure and EPS. It was also found that firm size has positive influence on EPS. The study concluded among others that financial structure decision is still relevant as debt ratio and equity ratio still influenced return on assets. Recommendations include that equity and debt ratio should be given adequate consideration by management of firms and that Nigerian Capital Market should be strengthened as they are expected to play positive role in the development of the national economy.