Determinants of Corporate Financial Performance Relating to Capital Structure Decisions in Indian Iron and Steel Industry

This study is basically undertaken so as to investigate the independent variables on which the dependent variable, i.e., the profitability depends upon for the firms belonging to the Indian iron and steel industry. The nine independent variables taken into consideration for the study which might have some impact on the profitability of the Indian iron and steel industry are “business risk†, “size of the firm (log(sales))†, “growth rate†, “debt service capacity (interest)†, “dividend payout†, “financial leverage†, “degree of operating leverage†, “firm’s age†and “size of the firm (log(assets))†. The above variables determining the capital structure of a firm have been taken into consideration after a thorough literature review. It is observed from the study that “financial leverage†, “debt service capacity (interest)†and “size of the firm (log assets)†are significant factors influencing the profitability of the firms of the Indian iron and steel industry. In this study, a further attempt has been made to examine the determinants of financial performance for companies belonging to the Indian iron and steel industry during the pre- and post-recession periods.