Effect of Financial Leverage on the Firm Value of Listed Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria

The study investigated the effect of financial leverage on firm values of listed Consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to examine the effect of debt ratio, debt to equity ratio, interest coverage ratio, debt to EBITDA ratio, and debt to capital ratio (which are proxies for financial leverage) on firm values (proxied by market capitalization) of listed Consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The study adopted ex-post facto research design and secondary data were extracted from the annual reports of sampled Consumer goods firms in Nigeria for the period 2013 – 2022. The panel regression and correlation analysis were used for data analysis. Findings showed that debt ratio has a non-significant negative effect on the market capitalization of Consumer goods firms in Nigeria, Debt to equity ratio has a non-significant negative effect on the market capitalization of Consumer goods firms in Nigeria, interest coverage ratio has a non-significant positive effect on the market capitalization of Consumer goods firms in Nigeria. Debt to EBITDA ratio and Debt to capital ratio have a significant positive effect on the market capitalization of Consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The implication of the findings is that the financial leverage ratios studied have a significant effect on the firm value of the Consumer goods companies in Nigeria. The study concluded that financial leverage ratios have a significant effect on firm value in the sector. The study recommended that firms in the Consumer goods sector should ensure that the proportion of leverage to equity should be properly managed and controlled to prevent the result of diminishing effects on their firm’s value.