The Impact of Capital Structure and Ownership Structure on Financial Performance: A Study on the KSE 100 Listed Firms in the Pakistan Stock Exchange

Abstract

Purpose: This research study aimed to examine the impact of capital structure and ownership structure on the financial performance of KSE-100 index firms on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Design/Methodology/Approach: 100 listed companies have been selected as sample for the study but due to data limitations, 90 companies' annual data has been used for 2009-2018. Ordinary least square regression was used on the panel data for analysis. Two measures of capital structure (debt-to-equity ratio and debt to total assets) while three measures of ownership structure (Foreign ownership, Institutional ownership, and managerial ownership) have been used to determine their impact on three financial performance measures (return on assets, return on equity, and Tobin's).  Findings: The results of this study showed that there is a significant negative relationship between financial performance and capital structure. Ownership structure and firm financial performance showed a significant positive relationship when measured on the basis of foreign ownership and institutional ownership while insignificant and negatively related to managerial ownership. Implications: This study suggests that organizations should take financing decisions in accordance with optimum capital structure because more debt decreases financial performance. Furthermore, a decision should be taken the encouragement of foreign and institutional shareholding, while the level of managerial ownership should be lessened to enhance financial performance