The Impact of Operating Cash Flows and Operating Profits on Cash Dividends: Accounts Receivable as a Moderating Variable in Jordanian Public Shareholding Industrial Companies

Abstract

This article aims to examine the concepts of operating cash flow and operating profit to reveal their impact on cash dividends in Jordanian industrial companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange during the period from 2014 to 2023. Accounts receivable were used as a moderating variable to examine this relationship. A purposive sample of 20 industrial companies was selected. Information was extracted from reports available on the Amman Stock Exchange, the Securities Depository Center, and the Jordan Securities Commission. Using regression analysis method in the statistical program (E-views) to test the study hypotheses of the collected data, the study’s results showed operating profit and net operating cash flows are positively associated with dividends, accounts receivable also exhibit a positive relationship with dividends, and the study found no significant moderating effect of accounts receivable on the relationship between operating profit and dividends. Most importantly, the study revealed a negative moderating effect of accounts receivable on the relationship between net operating cash flows and dividends."Based on the study's findings, the researchers recommend that companies pay more attention to carefully managing receivable accounts to ensure regular cash dividend distributions, develop receivables-related strategies and policies aimed at enhancing the company's financial stability, and conduct further research on the impact of receivable accounts on other variables related to cash dividend distributions."