Impact of Capital Structure on Profitability:An empirical analysis of listed firms in India

Abstract

This study aims to empirically examine and analyze the impact of capital structure decision on the firm’s profitability by using a sample of 35 Indian pharmaceutical companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) during the period of 5 years from 2012 to 2016. Regression Analysis is used to measure the extent and nature of the relationship. Capital structure variables used in the study are ratio of long-term debt to total assets (LDA), ratio of short-term debt to total assets (SDA) and ratio of Total debt to total assets (DA) while profitability has been measure by Return on Equity (ROE). Firms Size (SIZE)and Salesgrowth(GROW) are also used as control variables. Results reveal a positive effect of SDA and DA on ROE, while a weak-to-no effect was found of LDA on ROE.