Working Capital Management and Profitability: An Analysis of Listed Commercial Banks in Sri Lanka

Abstract: Decisions relating to working capital and short term financing are referred to as working capital management. These involve managing the relationship between a firm's short-term assets and its short-term liabilities. The objective of working capital management is to ensure that the firm is able to continue its operations and that it has sufficient cash flow to satisfy both maturing short-term debt and upcoming operational expenses. Working capital management is one of the essential determinants of firms ' market value because it directly affects the profitability. This study investigates the relationship between working capital management and profitability of Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) listed commercial banks in Sri Lanka. The objective of the study is to identify the relationship between the working capital management and profitability and its impact on profitability. The relation between the working capital management and profitability is examined using Pearson correlation analyses and the effects on profitability is found out using the regression analyses by using a sample of seven annual financial statements covering period 2007-2011 of listed commercial Banks in Sri Lanka. The working capital management represents the variables of the current ratio (CR), loans to deposit ratio (LDR) and cash ratio (CSR) and the profitability including the net profit margin (NPM), return on equity (ROA) and return on capital employed (ROCE). The conclusion of the study is that the CSR has great impact on NPM and ROA than other components which are influenced by other factors such as savings, interest rates other than CR and LDR. Working capital management has a great impact on the profitability of the Sri Lankan listed commercial banks and the value of the managers of commercial banks will have to increase value of the firm thereby controlling the level of optimal working capital position