EFFECT OF ASSEET MANAGEMENT ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF QUOTED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NIGERIA (A STUDY OF CADBURY NIGERIA PLC)

ABSTRACT Manufacturing companies in Nigeria depend on asset management functions to sustain their business operations because these functions serve as an essential factor that determines their operational capacity. The asset management system that manufacturing companies in Nigeria implemented shows its ineffective performance through the sector's decline, which resulted in 857 manufacturing plants closing or moving to different countries, and more than half of the remaining plants being classified as troubled operations in 2016. The research investigates how asset management practices impact the financial outcomes of publicly traded manufacturing companies in Nigeria (Cadbury Nigeria PLC). The research examined four asset management metrics, which included total asset turnover ratio, non-current asset turnover ratio, inventory turnover ratio, and receivable turnover ratio. The investigators gathered secondary investigation material through Cadbury Nigeria PLC's audited annual reports, which encompassed the period from 2011 until 2022. The researchers employed panel data ordinary least squares regression to test their hypotheses. The research findings demonstrate that the total asset turnover ratio, non-current asset turnover ratio, and inventory turnover ratio showed a statistically significant positive relationship to manufacturing companies' financial performance in Nigeria, which is measured with return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). The study demonstrates that asset management functions as a successful method that improves financial results for manufacturing companies situated in Nigeria. The result shows that manufacturing companies in Nigeria need to maximize their asset management system operations because this will lead to better financial growth through improved operational efficiency.