FACTORS AFFECTING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND CAPITAL STRUCTURE OF SAUDI ARABIAN INSURANCE COMPANIES

Abstract

The insurance sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia suffered from the poor performance of some insurance companies that faced challenges in coordinating their financial structure and were unable to cover their losses, which affected the overall performance of the insurance sector and led to liquidation in some cases. This research focuses on two main objectives: examining the effects of firm-specific and macroeconomic factors on the financial performance and capital structure of Saudi Arabian insurance companies. Previous insurance literature has primarily focused on firm-specific variables, while macroeconomic variables have received limited attention. Therefore, the researchers proposed that future research explore how macroeconomic factors affect the profitability of the Saudi insurance sector. This research aims to fill the gap in the existing literature by providing insights into the effects of multiple factors on the financial performance and capital structure of insurance companies in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, it emphasised the importance of each factor in understanding the overall performance of these companies. The underlying theories of the study included the capital structure theory, trade-off theory, pecking order theory, neoclassical theory and agency cost theory. The study utilised secondary data from 2010 to 2017, covering all 32 insurance companies listed on the Saudi Arabian Stock Exchange. Statistical techniques were employed to analyse the unbalanced datasets, including pooled OLS, fixed effects, and GMM. The regression results revealed several important determinants of Saudi insurance companies’ financial performance, including leverage, tangibility, economic growth, inflation, and interest rates. The findings indicated these factors are significant determinants of financial performance, while profitability, liquidity, company size, and tangibility affect the capital structure of insurance companies. The exclusion of the ROE model due to GMM requirements highlights its limitations. The study revealed that the dynamic model by GMM estimation is more efficient than the static model by OLS and fixed-effect models. These insights provide valuable knowledge for managers and policymakers in supporting the realisation of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and contribute to filling the gaps in the existing insurance literature.