EFFECT OF EQUITY CAPITAL ON THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF LISTED AGRICULTURAL FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the effect of equity capital on the financial performance of listed Agricultural firms in Nigeria for the period of ten years (2013-2022). The study was anchored on Pecking Or-der Theory. Ordinary Shares, Preference Shares and Retained Earnings proxied equity capital while Return on Assets proxied financial performance. Firm size served as control variable. The study adopted ex-post facto research design. Het-Corrected Regression model was used to run the data. Based on the analysis, findings from the study revealed that Ordinary Shares and Preference Shares have negative significant effect on the financial performance of listed Agricultural firms while retained earnings has negative insignificant effect on financial performance of listed Agricul-tural firms in Nigeria. Therefore, this study recommends that Managers of listed Agricultural firms in Nigeria should not consider rely on equity capital as bases for financial performance of their firms rather they should also consider debt and other forms of capital structure.