The Effect of Non-payment Dividend Policy on the Value of Investment Category Firms Listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange

Abstract

This study was on the effect of non-payment dividend policy on the value of investment category firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The research objective was to establish the effect of non-dividend payment on value of investment firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The results will assist in the understanding of how non-dividend payment policy influences a firm’s value. Firms can then make use of such information to implement a non-dividend payment policy which satisfies its shareholders expectations. The value of the firms with the policy of non-payment was compared with those which pay dividends. The firm will also ensure that the non-dividend policy implemented is not negatively affected by the firm’s value since a decline in firms value can be interpreted in terms of worse times ahead for such a firm. The research was based on the investment firms consistently listed at the NSE for the five years’ period from 2010 to 2014 inclusive. Data on listed firms is readily available and regarded credible for use. Five firms were used in the analysis upon which regression analysis and the SPSS analytical software were used to analyze the data. The research found that there was a significant relationship between non-dividend payment policy and firms value. Firm’s value was also found to vary in the different years under study. Non-Payment policy was therefore one of the factors that influenced the value of the firm though further research is therefore necessary to establish the effect of the same in other categories of firms listed on Nairobi Securities Exchange and other firms not listed.