The Effects of Working Capital Management on Mining Firm’s Profitability: Empirical Evidence from an Emerging Market

Working capital management decisions are the most important among the financial decisions in terms of companies. Working capital expresses financing and management of the short-term investment; in other words, profitability and liquidity are among the main factors affecting the objectives of the companies. The management of working capital components in emerging markets such as Turkey, where financial markets have inadequate depth and financial product diversity, with insufficient saving volume and capital accumulation, is an important topic. In this chapter, we examine the relationship between the components of working capital and profitability; a sample consisting of Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) listed mining firms for the period of 2009Q4–2015Q3 that has been analyzed under a panel data analysis. The main reason for choosing the mining sector is because it is the most strategic sector in developing countries. As a result, empirical findings of the study show that growth (firm growth in sales) and INVP (inventory period) affect ROA (return on assets), which represent firm profitability positively, while size (firm size) affects firm profitability negatively. On the other hand, the other independent variables included in the regression model LEV (leverage), CCC (cash conversion cycle), and ACRP (accounts receivables period) have no statistically significant effects on firm profitability for mining sector in Turkey.