POWER OUTAGES IN GHANA: DID THEY HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF LISTED FIRMS?

Abstract

The paper seeks to find out whether the recent power outages in Ghana had an effect on listed firms. Out of 35 listed firms in Ghana, 25 were purposively chosen as the sample size for the study. The research design was explanatory and employed quantitative methods that enabled comparison of six years’ trend analysis of firm’s performance – ‘before’ and ‘during’ power outage periods. Key performance indicators measured were Revenue, Profitability and Growth Rate. Findings were that power outages did not have an effect on revenue generation of listed firms and that on the contrary, the firms recorded higher maximum revenues for power outage periods. Again, an average growth rate of 122.26 percent for periods of power outages as against 79.0 percent mean growth rate for periods of consistent power established that power outages did not have an effect on the growth rate of listed firms. However, power outages had an effect on listed firms’ profitability and more so, accounted for increases in operational expenditure. Our findings on revenue generation and growth rate are unique in literature but that on profitability confirms earlier studies. We conclude that the effect of power outages on financial performance of listed firms in Ghana is mixed. To investors, we still recommend Ghana as an investment destination since power outages that beset the country were well managed and did not, to a large extent, have a negative effect on firms’ financial performance.