Abstract

The study aimed to explore the impact of cash flow on the financial performance of publicly listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria. An ex post facto research design was employed for this investigation. The study's focus was on the seven oil and gas companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) as of December 31st, 2022, which constituted the population and sample due to its manageable size. The time frame of analysis spanned a decade, from 2013 to 2022. The necessary data for the study were sourced from the published annual reports and accounts of the quoted oil and gas companies. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, particularly multiple regression, were employed for data analysis, with a significance level (α) set at 0.05. The findings of the study indicated that cash flow had a significant effect on key financial indicators, including return on assets (Adjusted R2 = 0.767, F-statistics = 13.612, p-value = 0.000), return on equity (Adjusted R2 = 0.266, F-statistics = 3.772, p-value = 0.001), and earnings per share (Adjusted R2 = 0.388, F-statistics = 5.854, p-value = 0.000) for the quoted oil and gas companies in Nigeria. In conclusion, the study established that cash flow played a notable role in influencing the financial performance of the examined oil and gas companies in Nigeria. As a recommendation, the study advised that the management of these companies should prioritize the interests of investors and leverage cash flow management strategies to drive sustainable financial performance.

Key words: Cash flow, Earnings per share, Oil and gas companies, Return on assets, Return on equity.