Sustainability Reporting and Corporate Financial Performance of Quoted Telecommunication Companies in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the link between sustainability reporting and telecommunication companies’ corporate performance on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The specific objectives of the study were to determine whether sustainability reporting - economic, social, and environmental disclosures - has an impact on the corporate performance of telecom companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, using profit margin (PM) as a measure of corporate financial performance. Since the sector has just three companies, the study considered the entire population. An ex post facto research design was used and the study used secondary data from the companies' annual reports for the relevant years considered (2012-2021). Panel regression techniques were used to examine the relationship between variables. This study found that economic performance disclosure and social performance disclosure has a significant positive effect on net profit margin, while environmental performance disclosure has no significant impact on the net profit margin of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In general, this study concludes that there is a significant correlation between sustainability reporting and the corporate performance of telecom companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The study, therefore, recommends, among other things, that companies should strive not only to improve these disclosures, but also to improve the quality of these disclosures.