Conference Paper

Cost control for enhancing corporate performance: Evidence from listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria

This study examined cost control tools on corporate performance of consumer goods firms listed on the Nigeria Exchange Group. The objective was to determine whether administrative cost, cost of sales, and selling and distribution cost affect profit after tax. The study adopted an ex post facto research design using secondary data extracted from published annual financial statements of ten selected consumer goods firms for 10 years (2015-2024), yielding 100 firm-year observations. The population comprised twenty consumer goods companies listed on the Nigeria Exchange Group, ten (10) firms were purposively selected on data availability. Panel data analysis was employed, including descriptive statistics, Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root tests, correlation analysis, and panel regression modelling using fixed and random effect specifications. The Hausman test confirmed the fixed effect model as appropriate specification. Findings from the fixed effect model revealed that administrative cost had a negative but statistically insignificant effect on profit after tax (β = -0.5448, p = 0.4367). Cost of sales exhibited a positive but insignificant relationship with profit after tax (β = 0.0366, p = 0.0958). However, selling and distribution cost demonstrated strong and statistically significant negative effect on profit after tax (β = -1.4650, p = 0.0000). The model explained approximately 46.7% of variations in profitability (R² = 0.4669). The study concluded that selling and distribution cost is the most critical cost factor undermining profitability among consumer goods firms. The study recommended logistics optimization, investment in digital distribution tools, and streamlined supply chains as strategies for improving financial performance. Keywords: Cost control techniques, profit after tax, administrative cost, cost of sales, selling and distribution cost.