Czajkowska, Agnieszka; Bolek, Monika; Plusko a, Anna
A icle
How he COVID-19 shock in luenced companies lis ed on
he WSE and how hey managed hei liquidi y
Financial In e ne Qua e ly
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Uni e si y o In o ma ion Technology and Managemen , Rzeszów
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Czajkowska, Agnieszka; Bolek, Monika; Plusko a, Anna (2024) : How he COVID-19
shock in luenced companies lis ed on he WSE and how hey managed hei liquidi y, Financial
In e ne Qua e ly, ISSN 2719-3454, Sciendo, Wa saw, Vol. 20, Iss. 1, pp. 39-50,
h ps://doi.o g/10.2478/ iq -2024-0004
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/329865
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10.2478/ iq -2024-0004
Abs ac The aim o he a icle is o analyze he liquidi y o non- inancial companies lis ed on he Wa saw
S ock Exchange. The a icle add esses he liquidi y o he examined g oup agains he back-
g ound o he en i e ma ke and i s ela ionship wi h deb , p o i abili y, g ow h and he isk o
bank up cy, including in he con ex o he COVID-19 pandemic. The a icle examines he asse -
ion ha COVID-19 in luenced he p ac ice o agg essi e liquidi y managemen in e ms o in-
deb edness, p o i abili y, alue c ea ion, and isk o bank up cy. The esea ch e ealed ha pub-
lic companies beha ed di e en ly han he en i e sec o by pu suing an agg essi e managemen
policy and ha he pandemic caused an e en g ea e dec ease in he s a ic liquidi y a ios while
cash con e sion cycle (CCC) inc eased. In addi ion, he decline in EPS g ow h and he inc ease in
Z-Sco e du ing he pandemic could mean ha en e p ises ocused on educing he isk o bank-
up cy a he han maximizing alue du ing he pandemic shock. Be o e he pandemic, CCC in lu-
enced DER, and du ing he pandemic, s a ic indica o s began o play a mo e impo an ole in
he inancial s a egies o he su eyed companies. The esea ch esul s add o liquidi y heo y
and i s impac on shaping inancial s a egy, especially du ing a inancial c isis. In addi ion, an
analysis o he impac o liquidi y on ea nings pe sha e (EPS) g ow h and Z-Sco e was conduc -
ed. They ep esen he c ea ion o alue and he assessmen o he isk o bank up cy, making
his pape pa icula ly insigh ul. The esul s ob ained p o ide aluable guidance o decision-
make s managing liquidi y and deb in co po a e inance.
JEL classi ica ion: G32
Keywo ds: Liquidi y, COVID-19 Pandemic
Recei ed: 07.11.2023 Accep ed: 03.12.2023
Ci e his:
Czajkowska A., Bolek M. & Plusko a A. (2024). How he Co id-19 shock in luenced companies lis ed on he WSE and how hey managed hei liquidi-
y. Financial In e ne Qua e ly 20(1), pp. 39-50.
© 2024 Agnieszka Czajkowska e al., published by Sciendo. This wo k is licensed unde he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-
NoDe i a i es 3.0 License.
1 Uni e si y o Lodz, Facul y o Economics and Sociology, Depa men o Co po a e Finance, Poland, email: [email protected],
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-7445-887X.
2 Uni e si y o Lodz, Facul y o Economics and Sociology, Depa men o Co po a e Finance, Poland, e-mail: [email protected], h ps://
o cid.o g/0000-0001-9376-1105.
3 Uni e si y o Lodz, Facul y o Economics and Sociology, Depa men o Co po a e Finance, Poland, e-mail: anna.plusko [email protected], h ps://
o cid.o g/0000-0002-2566-3420.
a ailable inancial assis ance unde he ‘an i-c isis
shields’.
A e age co po a e sec o liquidi y a ios inc eased
s ongly un il mid-2020. The inc ease in he accumula-
ion o liquid inancial asse s migh ha e been he e-
sul o a dec ease in spending on implemen ing in es -
men p ojec s and he in low o cash om la ge-scale
liquidi y suppo p og ams launched o businesses in
Poland. A e se e al qua e s o dynamic g ow h, in
he hi d qua e o 2020, he liquidi y a ios o he non
- inancial co po a e sec o (NFCS) s opped a e y high
le els, and he pe cen age o liquid companies eached
a his o ically high le el. The liquidi y o he NFCS im-
p o ed, emaining a a high, s able le el un il he end
o 2020. The isk o bank up cy inc eased sligh ly, while
co po a e deb dec eased be ween Ap il and Decem-
be 2020.
When assessing liquidi y in 2021, i can be conclud-
ed ha he NFCS was cha ac e ized by a high deg ee o
lexibili y and esilience o he shocks associa ed wi h
COVID-19. Go e nmen aid allowed business owne s o
main ain a high le el o liquidi y, and he cash liquidi y
a io eached a his o ical peak. Companies adap ed o
he e ec s o COVID-19 as e han du ing he global
inancial c isis, which also mean ha he nega i e con-
sequences we e ela i ely smalle . Many companies
bene i ed om he pandemic, global supply chains
we e eplaced by local ones, and businesses showed
unexpec ed lexibili y.
Good inancial esul s in he NFCS led o a e age
liquidi y a ios eaching new his o ical highs in Q2 o
2021. Sho - e m in es men s g ew dynamically o
ano he qua e , al hough his was accompanied by an
inc easing a e o g ow h o sho - e m liabili ies. Cash
liquidi y emained s ong, and in Q3 o 2021, he syn-
he ic cu en si ua ion index ose o i s highes le el in
en yea s. The apid eco e y o he index a e he
shock o COVID-19 and he es ic ions was mainly due
o he e y good liquidi y si ua ion o he co po a e
sec o (suppo ed by he Polish Go e nmen ).
A e analyzing he non- inancial company ma ke
in Poland, public en e p ises lis ed on he Wa saw
S ock Exchange (WSE) we e in es iga ed o e i y
whe he hey a e cha ac e ized by high le els o liquidi-
y and how his liquidi y changed and a ec ed indeb -
edness, p o i abili y, EPS g ow h, and he Z-Sco e.
The a icle aims o examine he liquidi y o Polish
public companies and how i impac s inancial manage-
men in he ligh o COVID-19 and he en i e ma ke .
The pape es s he hypo hesis ha COVID-19 in lu-
enced he p ac ice o agg essi e liquidi y managemen
in e ms o he indeb edness, p o i abili y, alue c ea-
ion and isk o bank up cy o companies lis ed on he
WSE. The hypo hesis is es ed h ough s a is ical analy-
The COVID-19 pandemic in luenced inancial ma -
ke s and companies’ managemen s a egies. Liquidi y
managemen is one o he mos impo an ac o s ha
make up companies’ s a egies. Liquidi y can be unde -
s ood in a s a ic way, ep esen ed by key a ios such as
he cu en a io (CR), quick a io (QR) and he acid- es
(AT) a io, which measu es inc eased liquidi y. The dy-
namic app oach is ep esen ed by he cash con e sion
cycle (CCC), al hough cash low measu es a e o en
conside ed. Liquidi y’s ela ionship wi h deb and
p o i abili y is widely discussed in he li e a u e, al -
hough he co ela ion wi h ea nings pe sha e (EPS)
g ow h and Z-Sco e is less equen ly analyzed. EPS
g ow h de e mines he inc ease in a company’s alue
(Danbol e al., 2011), and he Z-Sco e, apa om he
isk o bank up cy, can be in e p e ed as an assessmen
o i s inancial condi ion (Al man & Ho chkiss, 2010).
A company’s p ima y objec i e may be o maximize
alue. I can be achie ed by op imizing he capi al
s uc u e and maximizing ea nings pe sha e and p o i -
abili y g ow h while limi ing he isk o bank up cy.
The e o e, inancial indica o s such as liquidi y and
deb a ios, EPS g ow h, Z-Sco e, and p o i abili y a ios
we e selec ed o he s udy. Liquidi y, which is de e -
mined by in e nal and ex e nal ac o s, goes beyond
he scope o manage s’ decisions alone. I also depends
on he su ounding business en i onmen , which,
he e o e, may a ec he possibili y o implemen ing
a alue-maximiza ion s a egy.
The le el o liquidi y is de e mined by se e al ac-
o s, including p ecau iona y conside a ions, making
manage s main ain a highe - han-op imal le el o cash.
This app oach can also in luence alue managemen
s a egies. COVID-19- ela ed ma ke changes should
ha e a ec ed manage s and hei app oach o liquidi y.
Thus, he esea ch allows us o compa e companies
lis ed on he s ock exchange wi h he en i e sec o o
non- inancial business uni s ope a ing in Poland.
A he beginning o 2020, Polish companies’ liquidi-
y emained a a good, s able le el, and he sec o ’s
abili y o se ice i s liabili ies emained a a sa e le el.
Howe e , wi h a weakening o he domes ic and in e -
na ional economy in 2020, including he ea ly e ec s o
he COVID-19 pandemic, he inancial si ua ion o he
co po a e sec o de e io a ed. Despi e he inc ease in
sales e enue dynamics, inancial esul s and p o i abil-
i y d opped signi ican ly. Companies’ liquidi y a ings
and abili y o se ice deb on ime wo sened while he
bank up cy isk index inc eased. In he subsequen
pandemic pe iod, he magni ude o liquidi y de e io a-
ion depended in pa on he de elopmen o demand
o goods and se ices p o ided by he co po a e sec-
o , he pace o un eezing he economy and compa-
nies’ ‘ eco e y’ o e enues, and he e ec i e use o
nanced by in e nal esou ces o a highe deg ee and
we e, he e o e, less le e aged.
D’Ama o (2020) analyzed I alian small and medium
-sized en e p ises in esponse o he global inancial
c isis and capi al s uc u e decisions and hei de e mi-
nan s. The esul s showed ha c edi supply shocks
nega i ely impac ed he le e age. Du ing and a e he
c isis, companies signi ican ly dec eased hei le e age,
pa icula ly hei sho - e m deb , compa ed o he p e
-c isis pe iod. The indings e ealed ha iskie and
mo e p o i able i ms educed hei le e age mo e du -
ing he c isis han du ing he p e-c isis pe iod.
The compa ison wi h he COVID-19 pandemic can
help in unde s anding companies’ beha io du ing he
u moil, which was ela ed o in e nal decisions and
ma ke condi ions. Demmou e al. (2021) analyzed how
di e en policies a ec ed he ma ke du ing COVID-19
in 14 Eu opean coun ies. They showed ha go e n-
men suppo o elie e wage bills was he mos e ec-
i e ool o educe liquidi y sho ages, ollowed by deb
mo a o ium policies.
Zygmun (2013) esea ched liquidi y and p o i abil-
i y in Poland, con i ming he posi i e impac o liquidi y
on p o i abili y in Polish lis ed IT companies. Bolek and
Wilinski (2012) ound a nega i e impac o s a ic and
dynamic liquidi y measu es on p o i abili y when ana-
lyzing he cons uc ion sec o in Poland. Acco ding o
Łojek (2020), who analyzed ca impo e s, in mos cas-
es, he e was a posi i e and s ong ela ionship be-
ween p o i abili y and liquidi y in he au omo i e in-
dus y.
Pepu e al. (2021) analyzed companies lis ed on
he Zag eb S ock Exchange and compa ed he second
and hi d qua e s o 2020 wi h he second and hi d
qua e s o 2019. They showed ha an inc ease in he
ne deb - o-EBITDA a io nega i ely and s a is ically
signi ican ly a ec ed he cu en liquidi y a io. In con-
as , an inc ease in in ec ions had a posi i e impac on
he cu en liquidi y a io. S anic e al. (2022) analyzed
medium and small companies in he C oa ian ma ke .
They con i med a s a is ically signi ican and posi i e
impac o liquidi y on p o i abili y du ing he COVID-19
c isis, which means ha he inc ease in liquidi y in-
c eased p o i abili y.
Demi aj e al. (2022) s a ed ha o ensu e much-
needed liquidi y o un hei ope a ions, e ec i e wo k-
ing capi al managemen is undamen al o i ms o
e ain om o e in es ing in sho - e m esou ces o
he mos ex eme bene i . The esul s show ha he
ecei ables collec ion pe iod, in en o y con e sion
pe iod, accoun s payable pe iod, and cash con e sion
cycle had a signi ican nega i e impac on ROA o bo h
he p e-pandemic and pandemic pe iods. Mo eo e ,
excessi e in en o y impai s p o i abili y by locking up
aluable cash ese es, which a e i al, especially in
pe iods o c isis.
sis, es s o di e ences o means, and he Spea man
co ela ion and G ange causali y me hods. The a icle
is s uc u ed as ollows: i s , he li e a u e e iew is
p esen ed, ollowed by he da a, me hods and esul s.
I ends wi h a summa y and conclusions.
Liquidi y is a key ac o in he unc ioning o en e -
p ises. I s cha ac e is ic ea u e is ha i can be meas-
u ed using s a ic and dynamic a ios. Liquidi y can also
be analyzed in many dimensions, including paymen
capaci y, sol ency, o dynamics o ope a ion. All o
hese dimensions a e in e ela ed and make inancial
managemen no only in e es ing bu also di icul . Li-
quidi y’s in luence on company deb and p o i abili y is
widely discussed in he li e a u e.
Zimon (2020a, 2020b) ound he Polish ma ke o
be o e -liquid. He demons a ed ha some s a e-
owned ene gy companies had conse a i e liquidi y
s a egies while o he s we e agg essi e. On he o he
hand T ippne (2013) analyzed public companies in he
long e m and ound ha hey we e no o e -liquid, as
measu ed by he cu en a io.
Empi ical esea ch in Poland showed he nega i e
impac o liquidi y on he capi al s uc u e (Campbell
& Ja zemowska, 2001; Mazu , 2007). By con as , Nejad
and Wasiuzzaman (2013), Sibilko (2009), as well as
Shlei e and Vishny (1992) iden i ied a posi i e in lu-
ence o liquidi y on deb and capi al s uc u e in o he
ma ke s. They ound ha le e age is posi i ely ela ed
o liquid asse s. Analysis o liquidi y is o en conduc ed
in sec o s cha ac e ized by pa icula dependencies.
The in luence o liquidi y on deb a io was also ana-
lyzed by Se ghiescu and Vaidean (2014), who su eyed
Romanian lis ed cons uc ion companies. They ound
a nega i e in luence o liquidi y on he o al deb a io,
as did Jęd zejczak-Gas (2018) o he TFL sec o in Po-
land.
High liquidi y may educe he p opensi y o bo ow
(due o he p oblem o ee cash lows), which was con-
i med by Kuhnhausen and S iebe (2014), among o h-
e s. In C oa ia, he ela ionship be ween liquidi y a ios
and sho - e m le e age was s onge han be ween
liquidi y a ios and long- e m le e age. The mo e liquid
asse s companies ha e, he less hey a e le e aged.
Long- e m le e aged companies we e mo e liquid. In-
c easing in en o y led o inc eased le e age, al hough
inc easing he cash in cu en asse s was ela ed o
a educ ion in sho - e m and long- e m le e age
(Ša lija & Ha c, 2012).
Mye s and Rajan (1998) indica ed ha g ea e as-
se liquidi y made i less cos ly o manage s, and hey
could exp op ia e alue om in es o s. G ea e asse
liquidi y also makes i less cos ly o in es o s o exe -
cise con ol o e manage s. Lipson and Mo al (2009)
showed ha US i ms ha we e mo e liquid we e i-
Whe e: m1 and m2 a e he means o he i s and sec-
ond sub-pe iods, espec i ely.
The da a dis ibu ion ac oss he subpe iods was
es ed o no mali y wi h he Kolmogo o -Smi no and
he Shapi o-Wilk es s. The hypo hesis o equali y o
means can be es ed o no mally dis ibu ed da a us-
ing he S uden ’s - es . Fo di e en dis ibu ions o
da a, he non-pa ame ic Mann-Whi ney and Kolmogo-
o -Smi no es s a e applied. The non-pa ame ic
es s ake he ollowing o m:
Whe e: F1 and F2 is he dis ibu ion o a iables x1 and
x2, espec i ely.
The s a is ical signi icance o he di e ences be-
ween he Spea man co ela ions be o e and du ing
he COVID-19 pandemic was analyzed using he
Z-s a is ic (e.g. De B uin & S eyn, 2020), gi en by he
ollowing o mula:
(1)
G ange causali y was e i ied o pai s o analyzed
a iables. A wo-lag VAR model was es ima ed o bo h
a iables, and he join signi icance es o he lags o
a gi en a iable was used in he equa ion explaining
he o he a iable in he pai . This can be ep esen ed
by he ollowing equa ions:
(2)
(3)
In his case, he null hypo hesis is as ollows:
The abo e s a emen means ha he e is no cau-
sali y om he explaining a iable o he explana o y
a iable.
The ollowing hypo heses conside ing companies
lis ed on WSE a e e i ied:
H0: COVID-19 in luenced he p ac ice o agg essi e li-
quidi y managemen conce ning ac o s such as
indeb edness, p o i abili y, alue c ea ion, and isk
o bank up cy.
The main hypo hesis is e i ied using speci ic hy-
po heses:
H1: Liquidi y dec eased signi ican ly du ing he pan-
demic pe iod.
H2: The e was a signi ican di e ence be ween he DER
and DE deb a ios, ROE and ROA p o i abili y, EPS
g ow h, and he Al man Z-Sco e be o e and du ing
he pandemic.
Oli ei a and Fo una o (2006) e ealed ha smalle
and younge i ms had highe g ow h-cash low sensi-
i i ies han la ge and mo e ma u e i ms. This is con-
sis en wi h he s a emen ha inancial cons ain s on
i m g ow h may be ela i ely mo e se e e o small
and young i ms. Ali e al. (2019) ound ha liquidi y
had a s ong, posi i e ela ionship wi h p o i abili y in
e ms o ROA bu no impac on p o i abili y in e ms o
he quick a io. They also showed ha sales g ow h had
a nega i e ela ionship wi h p o i abili y. Les a i and
Kha id (2021) analyzed he Indonesian ma ke be o e
COVID-19 and showed ha le e age and liquidi y had
a posi i e e ec on ea nings quali y, while p o i abili y
and ea nings g ow h had no e ec . The quali y o ea n-
ings inc eases i a company can main ain he le el o
le e age and liquidi y. Howe e , he quali y o compa-
ny ea nings will dec ease when he company is la ge,
a ec ing i s le e age and liquidi y. Faja ia and Isnali a
(2018) ound ha p o i abili y and high g ow h inc ease
alue, bu liquidi y and high le e age educe i .
Looking a Indian Telecom companies, Khan and
Raj (2020) ound ha liquidi y signi ican ly impac s he
Z-Sco e, bu he impac o p o i abili y on he Z-Sco e
was no signi ican . Susan i and Sama a (2021) ound
ha p o i abili y, liquidi y and ac i i y can simul ane-
ously a ec inancial dis ess, wi h p o i abili y ha ing
he mos dominan in luence. Moch e al. (2019) ound
ha liquidi y and p o i abili y had a signi ican and neg-
a i e e ec on he inancial dis ess o manu ac u ing
companies lis ed on he Indonesia S ock Exchange,
while sol ency and deb le el had a signi ican and pos-
i i e e ec .
Liquidi y depends on a company’s in e nal deci-
sions and i s ela ionship wi h he business en i on-
men . Ou esea ch shows ha he ela ionships be-
ween liquidi y and deb , p o i abili y, EPS g ow h, and
he isk o bank up cy measu ed by he Z-Sco e di e ,
depending on he pape . The heo y o in e nal s a e-
gic dependencies in inance du ing ma ke u bulence
changed due o a shi in he objec i e o companies
om maximizing alue o su i ing. The esul s below
add o he li e a u e on inancial managemen and
COVID-19’s impac on liquidi y s a egies.
The inancial da a o non- inancial companies lis ed
on he WSE was used. The da a come om 2019–2021
and co e h ee qua e s be o e he ou b eak o COVID
-19 and h ee qua e s in which he pandemic shock
could be obse ed.
To compa e he means o hese wo sub-pe iods,
he null hypo hesis abou he equali y o he means in
bo h sub-pe iods was es ed:
0 1 2
1 1 2
:,
:
H m m
H m m
=
0 1 2
1 1 2
: ( ) ( ),
: ( ) ( )
H F x F x
H F x F x
=
12
2
12
11
33
zz
Z obse ed
NN
−
=
+
−−
0 1 1 1
11
kk
j j
jj
y y x
−−
==
= + + +
011
kk
j j j j
jj
y x y
−−
==
= + + +
0 1 2
: ... : 0
k
H
= = = =
QR (Quick liquidi y a io) = (cu en asse s – in en o-
ies) / cu en liabili ies;
AT (Inc eased liquidi y a io) = (cu en asse s – in en-
o ies and ecei ables) / cu en liabili ies;
CCC (Cash con e sion cycle) = in en o y cycle + ecei a-
bles cycle – cycle o sho – e m liabili ies;
DER (Deb a io) = To al deb / asse s;
DE (Capi al s uc u e a io) = long- e m deb / equi y;
gEPS (EPS g ow h) = (EPS – EPS -1)/Asse s -1; whe e EPS
is Ea nings Pe Sha e;
Z-Sco e = Al man Z-Sco e.
H3: The ela ionship be ween liquidi y and: p o i abili y,
deb le el, EPS g ow h, bank up cy isk du ing he
pandemic compa ed o he pe iod be o e he
heal h c isis.
H4: The in luence o liquidi y on s a egy a iables
changed du ing he pandemic and was weake .
The ollowing s a egy a iables a e analyzed in
de ail:
CR (Cu en liquidi y a io) = cu en asse s / cu en
liabili ies;
Table 1: Desc ip i e s a is ics o he analyzed deb a ios wi h di e ences in he pe iod be o e
and du ing he pandemic
Va iable Measu e Be o e
he pandemic
Du ing
he pandemic Di e ence % Di e ence
DER
Mean 1.5179 1.3900 -0.1274 8.40%
S anda d de ia ion 18.6272 14.0060
Minimum 0.0000 -0.9700
Maximum 415.2435 359.9660
DE
Mean 27.5659 32.6859 5.1200 18.57%
S anda d de ia ion 617.3940 639.9410
Minimum -62.0746 -25.6915
Maximum 14501.1069 13189.4489
CR
Mean 0.0890 0.0660 -0.0230 25.53%
S anda d de ia ion 0.8840 0.4070
Minimum 0.0000 0.0000
Maximum 18.1540 9.0430
QR
Mean 0.0830 0.0610 -0.0220 26.41%
S anda d de ia ion 0.8850 0.4070
Minimum 0.0000 0.0000
Maximum 18.1540 9.0430
AT
Mean 0.0420 0.0230 -0.0180 44.02%
S anda d de ia ion 0.6760 0.2230
Minimum 0.0000 0.0000
Maximum 17.0260 6.7930
CCC
Mean 36.5310 43.5220 6.9910 19.14%
S anda d de ia ion 908.2530 1038.3070
Minimum -49.6370 -18.2500
Maximum 27500.0000 27500.0000
gEPS
Mean 0.0010 0.0000 -0.0010 93.31%
S anda d de ia ion 0.1560 0.0020
Minimum -3.6680 -0.0030
Maximum 3.6650 0.0730
Z- Sco e
Mean 4.9520 5.1530 0.2010 4.07%
S anda d de ia ion 2.8290 2.8520
Minimum 0.3210 0.3210
Maximum 9.7840 9.7840
ROA
Mean 1.2600% 4.0100% 2.7500% 217.47%
S anda d de ia ion 26.0200% 23.0800%
Minimum -420.8200% -143.6300%
Maximum 157.7900% 304.1700%
In his pa o he a icle, he hypo heses a e e i-
ied, and he esea ch esul s a e p esen ed.
In he i s s ep, he hypo hesis ha liquidi y de-
c eased signi ican ly du ing he pandemic pe iod is e i-
ied. The Mann-Whi ney and Kolmogo o -Smi no es
was pe o med o de e mine he dis ibu ion o he
ollowing a iables: CR, QR, inc eased liquidi y a io
(AT) and CCC.
As he desc ip i e s a is ics show, du ing he pan-
demic pe iod, he ollowing a iables dec eased com-
pa ed o he pe iod be o e he pandemic: DER, CR, QR,
AT and EPS g ow h. The ollowing indica o s inc eased:
DE, CCC, Z-Sco e, ROA, and ROE.
Re e ing o he i s hypo hesis, public en e p ises
lis ed on he WSE a e no cha ac e ized by excessi e
liquidi y. This p oblem conce ns en e p ises om he
SME (small and medium en e p ises) sec o , which a e
no managed om he pe spec i e o maximizing alue.
Va iable Measu e Be o e
he pandemic
Du ing
he pandemic Di e ence % Di e ence
ROE
Mean 3.1400% 5.6300% 2.4900% 79.14%
S anda d de ia ion 39.9500% 42.7100%
Minimum -466.1800% -351.3100%
Maximum 267.2200% 432.8900%
Sou ce: Own s udy using PS Imago based on da a om No o ia.
Table 2: The esul s o he no mal dis ibu ion es s o he a iables desc ibing he liquidi y
Speci ica ion Kolmogo o -Smi no es Shapi o-Wilk es
S a is ics d Rele ance S a is ics d Rele ance
CR 0 0.4600 1553 0.0000 0.0590 1553 0.0000
1 0.4360 1583 0.0000 0.1140 1583 0.0000
QR 0 0.4630 1553 0.0000 0.0570 1553 0.0000
1 0.4400 1583 0.0000 0.1090 1583 0.0000
AT 0 0.4750 1553 0.0000 0.0320 1553 0.0000
1 0.4580 1583 0.0000 0.0660 1583 0.0000
CCC 0 0.4890 1401 0.0000 0.0180 1401 0.0000
1 0.4880 1404 0.0000 0.0180 1404 0.0000
Whe e: 0 - ep esen s he pe iod be o e he pandemic; 1 - indica es he pe iod o he pandemic
Sou ce: Own s udy using PS Imago based on da a om No o ia.
The s a is ically signi ican di e ences be ween he
mean alues o he a iables in bo h sub-pe iods we e
e i ied in he nex s ep wi h he Mann-Whi ney U es
and he Kolmogo o -Smi no Z- es , as p esen ed in
Table 3.
Based on he esul s in Table 2, i can be s a ed
ha he dis ibu ion o hese a iables is di e en han
no mal in bo h sub-pe iods. The analysed indica o s
indeed had di e en alues in he sub-pe iods ana-
lysed, which also indica es ha he pandemic signi i-
can ly changed he alues o he liquidi y indica o s.
Table 3: Tes s e i ying he s a is ical signi icance o di e ences be ween means
Speci ica ion CR QR AT CCC
U Mann-Whi ney es
U Mann-Whi ney 1206950.5000 1208229.5000 1096175.0000 964158.0000
Asymp o ic signi icance ( wo-sided) 0.0789 0.0723 0.0000 0.3670
Kolmogo o -Smi no es
Z Kolmogo o -Smi no 1.1228 1.1293 2.9969 1.0630
Asymp o ic signi icance ( wo-sided) 0.1606 0.1560 0.0000 0.2080
Sou ce: Own s udy using PS Imago based on da a om No o ia.
The nex s ep e i ies he second hypo hesis, i.e.,
he e was a signi ican di e ence be ween he DER and
DE deb a ios, ROE and ROA p o i abili y, EPS g ow h
and he Al man Z-Sco e be o e and du ing he pandem-
ic due o a change in managemen goals. The Mann-
Whi ney and Kolmogo o -Smi no es s we e pe -
o med o in es iga e he ype o dis ibu ions o he
ollowing a iables: Z-Sco e, EPS inc ease, ROA, ROE,
DER and DE.
The esul s o he Mann-Whi ney U es and he
Kolmogo o -Smi no Z es in Table 3 show ha , ac-
co ding o he Mann-Whi ney U es , he s a ic liquidi y
a ios CR, QR and AT we e signi ican ly di e en in he
sub-pe iods, while he di e ence be ween CCC alues
was s a is ically insigni ican . The i s esea ch hypo h-
esis was posi i ely e i ied.
Table 4: The esul s o he no mal dis ibu ion es s o a iables desc ibing p o i abili y
gEPS 0 0.4960 1157 0.0000 0.0261 1157 0.0000
1 0.4874 1550 0.0000 0.0159 1550 0.0000
Z-Sco e 0 0.0617 1586 0.0000 0.9550 1586 0.0000
1 0.0655 1590 0.0000 0.9543 1590 0.0000
ROA 0 0.2420 1419 0.0000 0.4920 1419 0.0000
1 0.2100 1411 0.0000 0.6540 1411 0.0000
ROE 0 0.2115 1419 0.0000 0.6440 1419 0.0000
1 0.1900 1411 0.0000 0.7090 1411 0.0000
DER 0 0.4730 1578 0.0000 0.0350 1578 0.0000
1 0.4660 1596 0.0000 0.0480 1596 0.0000
DE 0 0.5050 1578 0.0000 0.0210 1578 0.0000
1 0.5050 1596 0.0000 0.0250 1596 0.0000
Speci ica ion Kolmogo o -Smi no es Kolmogo o -Smi no es
S a is ics d S a is ics d S a is ics d
Whe e: 0 - ep esen s he pe iod be o e he pandemic; 1 - indica es he pe iod o he pandemic
Sou ce: Own s udy using PS Imago based on da a om No o ia.
alues o he a iables in bo h sub-pe iods we e e i-
ied o s a is ical signi icance. The esul s o he Mann-
Whi ney U es and he Kolmogo o -Smi no Z es
show signi ican di e ences be ween he a e ages o
EPS g ow h and he Z-Sco e in he sub-pe iods.
Table 4 shows ha he dis ibu ion o hese a ia-
bles is di e en han no mal in bo h sub-pe iods. The
indica o s analysed in Table 4 signi ican ly changed
hei alues du ing he pandemic pe iod, con i ming
he s ong impac o he pandemic on co po a e inanc-
es. In he nex s ep, he di e ences be ween he mean
Table 5: Tes s e i ying he s a is ical signi icance o di e ences be ween means
Speci ica ion gEPS Z-co e ROA
U Mann-Whi ney es
U Mann-Whi ney 906280.0000 1208926.0000 1143951.0000
Asymp o ic signi icance
( wo-sided) 0.0599 0.0444 0.9290
Kolmogo o -Smi no es
Z Kolmogo o -Smi no 1.4772 1.3686 1.0630
Asymp o ic signi icance
( wo-sided) 0.0255 0.0472 0.2080
Speci ica ion ROE DER DE
U Mann-Whi ney es
U Mann-Whi ney 986612.0000 1232697.5000 1258503.5000
Asymp o ic signi icance
( wo-sided) 0.5050 0.2897 0.9279
Kolmogo o -Smi no es
Z Kolmogo o -Smi no 0.9980 1.0424 0.5885
Asymp o ic signi icance
( wo-sided) 0.2720 0.2273 0.8792
Sou ce: Own s udy using PS Imago based on da a om No o ia.
i med; only he change in EPS and Z-Sco e we e signi i-
can .
Table 6 p esen s Spea man’s ho co ela ion coe i-
cien s o he a iables in he pe iods be o e and du ing
he COVID-19 pandemic, oge he wi h a compa ison o
he signi icance o hese changes.
Based on Table 5, i can be concluded ha he de-
c ease in EPS g ow h and he inc ease in Z-sco e we e
s a is ically signi ican . EPS g ow h dec eased by as
much as 93.31%, while he Z-Sco e inc eased by only
4.07%. No s a is ically signi ican di e ence can be
ound be ween he a e ages o ROA, ROE, DER and
DE. The second esea ch hypo hesis was pa ially con-
Table 6: The co ela ion coe icien s and he di e ence in signi icance be ween he coe icien s
The co ela ion coe icien du ing he COVID-19 pandemic
Speci ica ion DER DE gEPS Z Sco e ROA ROE
CR -0.620** -0.217** 0.065* 0.706** 0.397** 0.254**
QR -0.599** -0.220** 0.079** 0.600** 0.335** 0.196**
AT -0.427** -0.103** 0.069** 0.507** 0.329** 0.235**
CCC -0.319** -0.121** 0.003 0.293** 0.033 -0.065*
Z-s a is ic o di e ences be ween co ela ions be o e and du ing he COVID-19 pandemic
Speci ica ion DER DE gEPS Z Sco e ROA ROE
CR -1.377 -0.365 -0.616 -2.016 -4.040 -3.534
QR -1.181 -0.337 -1.150 -1.821 -3.876 -3.401
AT -1.790 -0.364 -1.115 -3.207 -3.421 -2.594
CCC -0.635 -1.296 0.092 0.711 -0.874 0.308
The co ela ion coe icien be o e he COVID-19 pandemic
Speci ica ion DER DE gEPS Z Sco e ROA ROE
CR -0.571** -0.204** 0.041 0.634** 0.250** 0.121**
QR -0.557** -0.208** 0.034 0.535** 0.194** 0.068*
AT -0.363** -0.090** 0.025 0.392** 0.204** 0.137**
CCC -0.295** -0.072** 0.007 0.320** 0.000 -0.077**
Signi icance le els o he pa ame e s a e gi en in he able: *** – p < 0.01, ** – p < 0.05, * – p < 0.1.
The s a is ical signi icance o di e ences be ween co ela ions is shown in bold (alpha = 0.10)
Sou ce: Own s udy using PS Imago based on da a om No o ia.
ela ion in he wo analyzed pe iods o he DER, CR,
and AT indices. In he case o he DE a io, no signi i-
can change in he co ela ion wi h s a is ical liquidi y
a ios was ound, al hough he co ela ion wi h CCC
changed signi ican ly. Resea ch hypo hesis 3 was con-
i med based on he co ela ion analysis, as a signi i-
can di e ence be ween he co ela ion o liquidi y and
p o i abili y a ios, deb le el, EPS g ow h, and he
Z-Sco e changed du ing he pandemic.
G ange causali y es s we e pe o med o he wo
subg oups, and he p- alues a e p esen ed in Table 7.
Compa ing he co ela ion be ween he indica o s
o he wo sub-pe iods shows ha he changes in he
co ela ion a e small, as hey do no exceed 0.150. The
la ges di e ence in he co ela ion index be ween he
p e-pandemic pe iod and he pandemic pe iod was
demons a ed o he ROA and CR pai o indica o s.
Thei co ela ion inc eased du ing he COVID-19 pan-
demic. Compa ing he change in he co ela ion be-
ween he deb and liquidi y a ios in he wo sub-
pe iods, he la ges di e ence o he DER and AT a ios
was equal o 0.064. The analysis o he Z s a is ics al-
lows us o demons a e a signi ican change in he co -
Table 7: G ange es esul s
Va iable P- alue
Be o e he COVID-19 pandemic Du ing he COVID-19 pandemic
CR ⇏ DER 0.9994 0.9939
CR ⇏ DE 0.9968 0.9941
CR ⇏ ROA 0.9762 0.8838
CR ⇏ ROE 0.7711 0.6545
CR ⇏ qEPS 0.3124 0.9876
CR ⇏ Z-Sco e 0.4104 0.0663
