Symposia & Conferences
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Item The Impact of Financial Leverage and Working Capital Management on Financial Performance: An Analysis Before and During the Economic Crisis: Evidence from Listed Companies in The Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Industries of Sri Lanka(Department of Finance, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2025) Wijesingha, R. M. D. L.; Gunasekara, A. L.Introduction: This investigation focuses on examining whether financial leverage and working capital management impact on financial performance of companies, particularly before and during the economic crisis. Special attention is given to financial performance indicators such as Return on Assets and Return on Equity. Methodology: This study analyzes panel data covering ten companies over ten years of the Food, Beverage, and Tobacco sector. Here, the company was selected based on market capitalization. Using a quantitative approach, secondary data has been obtained from the annual reports of the selected companies for this study. The independent variables are Total Debt Ratio, Inventory Conversion Period, Average Receivable Period, Average Payable Period, and the dummy variables are Covid-19, Economic Crisis, and Full Crisis Period. Control variables are Firm Size, Sales Growth, and Asset’s Tangibility. Also, a t-test and regression were mainly used for the analysis. Findings: According to t-test results, there is no statistical difference between pre-crisis and during-crisis groups. In the regression analysis, it was found that the economic crisis and Covid-19 have impacted the financial performance of the Food, Beverage, and Tobacco sector. Conclusion: It highlights the importance of effective financial leverage and working capital management practices to enhance resilience even during economic crises. It also provides valuable guidance for managers, investors, and policymakers seeking to enhance performance during challenging periods and provides a foundation for future research on capital strategies in emerging economies during economic crises.Item The Effect of Capital Structure on Firm Performance: Evidence from Listed Diversified Financials Sector Companies in Colombo Stock Exchange: Pre- Crisis vs. Economic Crisis(Department of Finance, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2025) Ishanka, G. A. C.; Gunasekara, H. M. A. L.Introduction: This study investigates the impact of capital structure on the financial performance of diversified financial sector companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) during pre-crisis (2014–2020) and crisis (2021–2023) periods. The objectives of the study are to evaluate the strength of the causal relationship between capital structure and firm performance of the listed diversified financial sector companies between the periods of 2014-2023 and to check whether there is a statistically significant impact between the capital structure and firm performance of the listed Diversified Financial sector companies before and during the economic crisis periods (2014-2023). This study addresses this gap by examining the effect of debt on three key performance metrics: Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), Return on Assets (ROA), and Tobin’s Q. Methodology: The research follows a quantitative approach using secondary data from 27 listed diversified financial firms. Panel data regression will be used for the analysis to evaluate the relationship between capital structure and firm performance, with firm age, size, tangibility, and sales growth as control variables. The economic crisis is incorporated as a dummy variable to assess its effect on firm performance. Descriptive statistics and t-tests are used to identify differences in firm performance between pre-crisis and crisis periods. Findings: The findings indicate a significant negative relationship between the debt-to-equity ratio and all three performance indicators (ROCE, ROA, and Tobin’s Q) and ROA, ROCE are significantly impacted by the Economic Crisis and Tobin’s Q is not impacted by the Economic Crisis. Conclusion: Capital Structure and Firm Performance is a highly discussed topic among researchers. However, studies done on specific sectors are very rare in the Sri Lankan context. Furthermore, the study has incorporated the economic crisis as well. Therefore, this study will provide insights into future research on this topic.Item The Effect of Capital Structure on Firm Performance: Evidence from Listed Capital Goods Sector in Colombo Stock Exchange: Pre-Crisis vs. Economic Crisis(Department of Finance, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2025) Madhushika, N. G. S.; Gunasekara, H. M. A. L.Introduction: This study investigates the impact of capital structure on the financial performance of firms in the capital goods sector listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in Sri Lanka. The analysis covers the period from 2014 to 2023, distinguishing between the pre-crisis (2014-2020) and economic crisis (2021-2023) periods to understand the role of the economic crisis as a dummy variable. Firm performance is measured using Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), and Tobin’s Q, while the debt-to-equity ratio serves as the independent variable. Control variables include firm size, age, tangibility, and sales growth. Methodology: Using a quantitative approach, secondary data from 22 listed firms were analyzed using panel data regression through descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, panel regression analysis, and t-tests. The study used a positivism approach. Random effect panel regression models were used to analyze the data. Findings: The findings indicate a significant negative relationship between the debt-to-equity ratio and all three performance indicators (ROCE, ROA, and Tobin’s Q) and ROA, ROCE are significantly statistically impacted by the Economic Crisis and Tobin’s Q is not statistically impacted by the Economic Crisis. Conclusion: The study concludes that higher debt ratios negatively affect firm performance, with this impact being more pronounced during an economic crisis. The findings highlight the need for firms to adopt timely capital structure decisions, especially in uncertain economic conditions.Item Determinants of Capital Structure: An Analysis of Pre and During Economic Crisis – Evidence from Listed Consumer Services Sector Companies in Sri Lankan Stock Exchange(Department of Finance, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2025) Wijenayake, K. D. D. I.; Gunasekara, H. M. A. L.Introduction: Leverage plays a vital role in optimizing capital structure, and identifying determinants of leverage across varying economic conditions is crucial for strategic financial management. However, limited research focuses on recognizing key determinants of leverage in the consumer service sector in Sri Lanka, creating a gap in understanding its unique leverage dynamics and determinants. To fill this gap, this research endeavor aimed to examine the determinants of financial leverage in consumer service companies in Sri Lanka, with a specific focus on how these determinants behave before and during an economic crisis. Methodology: This study adopted a quantitative methodology to investigate the impact of firm profitability, size, asset tangibility, and growth on leverage, measured by the long-term debt-to-asset ratio. Data were collected from 15 listed Sri Lankan consumer service corporations, selected by size, covering eleven years from 2014 to 2024. Panel regression analysis was performed to identify the effects of these variables on leverage under different economic conditions. Findings: Profitability consistently showed a notable adverse effect on leverage, intensifying during downturns as firms prioritized internal financing to mitigate risks. Asset tangibility positively influenced leverage but diminished in relevance during crises. Firm size positively impacted leverage over the years, but larger firms adopted conservative financing strategies during economic uncertainty, mirroring smaller firms. Growth consistently exhibited an adverse effect on leverage, as growing firms avoided excessive debt, favoring financial stability. Conclusion: The impact of these determinants slightly weakened during crises due to restricted access to external financing. This emphasizes the importance of understanding contextual factors that influence financial decisions during periods of instability. These findings benefit corporate managers and policymakers by enabling more informed strategies for risk management and sustainable finance.Item Assessing Profitability of Sri Lankan Commercial Banks Amidst Crisis(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies University of Kelaniya., 2024-11-01) Gunasekara, H.M.A.L.; Ranasinghe, R.A.P.M.; Jayasinghe, G.D.C.T.This study aims to examine whether the Covid 19 pandemic and the post pandemic economic crisis have damaged the primary profitability of commercial banks. This study uses annual data from 2011 to 2023 for ten leading public and private domestic commercial banks in Sri Lanka. The results have been obtained using panel regression models and mean comparison tests. This study identified that the primary profitability measured by ROA is lower during health crisis and economic crisis periods and it achieves statistical support under comparison tests. The negative impact on ROA is dominant in the first Covid 19 year (2020) and the first economic crisis year (2022) than other periods. Further, comparison tests show that the impacts of any crisis are not superior to one another. However, when controlled for the bank-specific and macroeconomic factors, the negative differential effect of both crises fails to achieve statistical significance, indicating that Covid 19 and post- pandemic economic crisis have impacted domestic commercial banks weakly. This is the first kind of study to uncover that the domestic commercial banks have managed to maintain their primary profitability without a large injury to ROA during the health crisis and economic crisis years, helping them remain resilient during the crisis period.Item An Examination of Valuers’ Perceptions on Property Valuation during an Economic Crisis: Evidence from Sri Lanka(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies University of Kelaniya., 2024-11-01) Mendis, B. S. N.; Perera, T. G. U. P.Uncertainty, an inherent characteristic of property valuation, is a common phenomenon that cannot be avoided. Nevertheless, the material uncertainty in property valuation should be treated with special professional consideration by valuers. Most recently, Sri Lanka faced a severe economic crisis, increasing the likelihood of presence of material uncertainty in the valuation process. This paper aims to investigate whether there was an abnormal uncertainty in property valuation during the economic crisis of Sri Lanka and to identify the behavioural changes of professionals prompted by the crisis. Data for the study was collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 professional valuers who were selected purposively and analyzed using thematic analysis techniques in conjunction with the theoretical lens of prospect theory. The findings revealed that the valuers indeed experienced abnormal uncertainty in property valuation due to the economic crisis, leading to behavioural changes in valuers which were more subjective in nature. This paper recommends establishing a framework for addressing abnormal uncertainty in property valuation to ensure consistency within the profession. Furthermore, it recommends further investigations into abnormal uncertainty regarding specific property categories and valuation types, including statutory valuations.