Effect of Selected Firm Specific Factors on Financial Performance of Real Estate Firms Listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to find the effect of selected firm specific factors on real estate firm financial performance. Financial performance was measured by return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). The objectives of the study were to; determine the effect of liquidity on financial performance; assess the effect of leverage on financial performance; and examine the effect of firm size on financial. The study was based on the Trade-off theory, Shiftable theory and Liquidity preference theory. The study used descriptive survey research design in an attempt to investigate the effect of selected firm specific factors on firm financial performance. The population of this study comprised the five (5) real estate firms listed under the investment subsector of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The study used data covering a period of ten years from 2008 to 2017. The data was collected from published audited financial annual reports of the four (4) real estate firms listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange. One was not studied due to unavailability of financial statements for the whole period of the study. The secondary data was collected using a data collection sheet. To describe profiles of the firms and research variables, means, standard deviations and coefficient of variation were used; and Pearson’s correlation was used to examine relationships. The diagnostic tests done were normality and autocorrelation tests. The researcher used SPSS software to assist in analyzing the data. The results revealed significant negative relationship between liquidity and financial performance. The results also showed insignificant positive relationship between leverage and financial performance. The results also showed insignificant positive relationship between firm size and financial performance. Further, the results evidenced that all the variables combined had a statistically significant effect on the financial performance. The study recommends further research on other firm specific factors not included in the study to determine whether they have a significant effect on financial performance of real estate in Kenya or not.