CAPITAL STRUCTURE DETERMINANTS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF UZBEK GRAIN-PROCESSING ENTERPRISES: EVIDENCE FROM REPORTED PRAIS–WINSTEN REGRESSION RESULTS

The relationship between capital structure and return on assets (ROA) among grainprocessing and related manufacturing enterprises in Uzbekistan is examined. The study aims to assess the associations between financial leverage, the debt-to-assets ratio, liquidity, and corporate financial performance. Descriptive statistics and Prais–Winsten regression results based on 40 observations for the 2021–2025 research period are analyzed. The estimated model reports a coefficient of determination of R² = 0.669 and an F-statistic of 5.869. The estimated coefficient for the debt-to-equity ratio (DER) is −0.054 (p = 0.001), while the coefficient for the debt-to-assets ratio (DAR) is 1.323 (p = 0.004). The liquidity coefficient is 0.325 (p = 0.092). The findings indicate a statistically significant negative association between DER and ROA and a statistically significant positive association between DAR and ROA. The association between liquidity and ROA is positive but statistically significant only at the 10% level. These results emphasize the importance of jointly considering debt exposure and liquidity in capital structure management. Such an integrated approach can contribute to more economically informed financing decisions and the financial stability of enterprises.