Capital structure of Czech joint stock companies and its determinants

The aim of this thesis is to perform an analysis of capital structure of joint stock companies based in the Czech Republic. The first part of the thesis introduces modern theories and main determinants of capital structure. Further it stakes out basic models used for testing the validity of mentioned theories and the methodology used. The second part of the thesis focuses on practical results of the analysis. The first chapter summarises descriptive analysis of the passive structure, the level of leverage, the composition of equity and liabilities of the joint stock companies. These ratios are judged mainly according to industry classification and the type of ownership. In the next step, the relationship between leverage and profitability is closely explored since it is thought to be one of the main determinants. In the last chapter, the models are applied to the sample of Czech companies with the effort to judge the validity of capital structure theories and to evaluate the effect of determinants on capital structure