bizfame21-eproceeding

BizFAME2021

International Virtual Conference on Business, Finance, Management and Economics

FACTORS AFFECTING PROFITABILITY IN BURSA MALAYSIA’S
HEALTH CARE FIRMS IN 2019

*Chaleeda Som Sak1, Khairul Anuar Azmi1, Muhamad Na’im Othman1, Nur Safi Syakirah
Amran1, Nurul Liyana Adnan1, Siti Nor Farah Ika Abdullah1

1Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Kedah Branch,
Malaysia

*Corresponding E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Internal and external variables could influence the profitability of any business; thus,
managers’ efficiency and effectiveness is highly dependent on their ability to recognise these
variables. In light of the current pandemic, the healthcare sector is in a greater demand and
has become more vital. This research was conducted to investigate the factors affecting
profitability in the health care sector in 2019. The research was carried out using a cross-
sectional procedure on a sample of 12 health care firms listed in the Bursa Malaysia in 2019
under healthcare equipment and services, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare providers. The
study used return on equity to measure profitability as the dependent variable, while the
independent variables are cash conversion cycle, leverage, firm growth, and firm size.
Multiple linear regression was used to conduct the analysis. The empirical result of this
research proves that profitability in the healthcare sector is very much influenced by cash
conversion cycle, leverage, and firm size, but not by firm growth. This is because the pursuit
of high growth would not immediately impact the profitability of the same year, but rather in
the long term.

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The healthcare industry is globally considered as one of the most rapidly growing industries
in the economy and has become an influential engine of economic growth in Malaysia. The
composition of private hospitals has developed in complexity with the establishment of large
corporate groups or holding companies under Khazanah Nasional, the IHH Healthcare, and
the KPJ Healthcare groups under Johor Corporation; both have been listed in the Bursa
Malaysia over the last few years. These chains of hospitals are managed by large corporate
groups internationally and locally. However, the rivalry among private healthcare providers
will certainly increase due to the growth in the industry. Ever than before, the industry
experiences more alliances, more deals, more experiments, and more investments. Hence, it
is of utmost importance to examine the factors that affect the profitability of firms for a
sustainable growth in the healthcare industry.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
Profitability is one of the major goals of any company to be sustainable in any competitive
environment. Profitability is also the reason for optimising stakeholder and investor values
and for demonstrating a company’s success in a business environment (Fareed et al., 2016).
One of the determinants of profitability is the cash conversion cycle, defined as the period
that starts from the payment to suppliers and ends with the collection from account
receivables (Baños-Caballero et al., 2019). As proposed by Nobanee (2009), an optimal
period of cash conversion is a more precise and systematic measure of managing the working
capital that maximises companies’ revenue, profitability, and market value. Besides the cash

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conversion cycle, leverage also has an impact on profitability. According to Bhatti et al.

(2010) and Samo & Murad (2019), for a company to pursue growth, debt is acceptable, and

its stockholders are aware of this, but once financial leverage reaches a critical point, the
stockholders will become concerned with the company’s financial position.

Another determinant of profitability is firm size. Larger firms prefer to expand more than

smaller ones, since they experience economies of scale and gain higher profits (Flamini et al.,
2009). Singhania and Mehta (2017) pointed out that a firm’s growth is a crucial independent
variable to be included when analysing profitability. Firms are more likely to have access to
more capital and are more inclined to diversify their product offering by taking advantage of
economies of scale that have improved profitability (Fareed et al., 2016).

While the main debated issues in the healthcare sector development have been the research
and development, inadequate attention has been paid to profitability factors as determined by
financial ratio, specifically (Lim & Rokhim, 2020). Hence, the purpose of this study is to
examine the influence of cash conversion cycle, leverage, firm growth, and firm size on
profitability. This study used return on equity (ROE) to measure profitability as the
dependent variable, while cash conversion cycle (CCC), leverage (LEV), firm growth (SLG),
and firm size (SIZ) are the independent variables.

Figure 1
Research Framework of the Study

Cash Conversion Cycle

Leverage Profitability
Firm Growth

Firm Size

Research Model: PROF = α + β1CCC + β2LEV + β3SLG + β4SIZ + ε

Therefore, the following hypotheses were developed to investigate the relationships among
the variables:

H1: Cash conversion cycle has a relationship with profitability of healthcare firms.
H2: Leverage has a relationship with profitability of healthcare firms.
H3: Firm growth has a relationship with profitability of healthcare firms.
H4: Firm size has a relationship with profitability of healthcare firms.

3.0 RESEARCH METHOD
The research was conducted using cross-sectional procedure on a sample of 12 healthcare
firms listed in the Bursa Malaysia in 2019 under healthcare equipment and services,
pharmaceuticals, and healthcare providers. Data were collected using Thomson Reuters
DataStream, provided by Perpustakaan Sultan Badlishah UiTM Cawangan Kedah. The data
were then analysed by EViews software using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method.

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4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The empirical result of this research illustrated that profitability in the healthcare sector is
very much influenced by cash conversion cycle, leverage, and firm size, but not by firm
growth. Cash conversion cycle was found to affect a firm’s profitability negatively, because a
firm with a lower cash conversion cycle reduces the number of days for its average collection
period, which will then create value for its shareholders. In addition, this study also
discovered that leverage has a negative significant relationship to profitability, implying that
a high debt in the capital structure will be detrimental to the healthcare firm; this is consistent
with similar past research by Amponsah-Kwatiah and Asiamah (2020) and Magoutas,
Chountalas, and Konstantinidou (2017). Next, firm size was found to have a positive and
significant association with a firm’s profitability. As the company size grows, it is better for
the company to gain access to more financial resources, resulting in reduced capital costs and
increased profits (Alarussi & Alhaderi, 2018). The positive association between a company’s
overall size and its profitability is in line with the resource-based theory, i.e., the greater the
access to financial resources, the lower is the cost of capital (Lim & Rokhim, 2020). On the
other hand, firm growth was discovered as not having any significant impact to profitability
of the firm, in line with the research by Fitzsimmons, et al. (2011); Hansen and Huniarti
(2014); and Ting et al. (2014). This is because firm growth has no association with
profitability due to the fact that it will take a few years for such growth to earn profit, which
will only be reflected after several years.

5.0 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this present research attempted to examine the determinants of a firm’s
profitability among healthcare firms listed in Bursa Malaysia in 2019. The four independent
variables were cash conversion cycle, leverage, firm growth, and firm size, while the
dependent variable was profitability. Firm size was revealed to have a positive impact on
profitability of the listed healthcare firms in Malaysia, whereas cash conversion cycle and
leverage have a negative and significant impact. However, the pursuit of high growth would
not immediately impact the profitability of the same year, but rather in the long term. Hence,
healthcare firms listed in Bursa Malaysia should focus on improving the cash conversion
cycle, leverage, and firm size to improve the profitability.

REFERENCES
Alarussi, A. S., & Alhaderi, S. M. (2018). Factors affecting profitability in Malaysia. Journal

of Economic Studies, 45(3). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-05-2017-0124
Amponsah-Kwatiah, K., & Asiamah, M. (2020). Working capital management and

profitability of listed manufacturing firms in Ghana. International Journal of
Productivity and Performance Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-02-2020-
0043
Baños-Caballero, S., García-Teruel, P. J., & Martínez-Solano, P. (2019). Net operating
working capital and firm value: A cross-country analysis. BRQ Business Research
Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brq.2019.03.003
Bhatti, A. M., Majeed, K., Ijaz-ur-Rehman, & Khan, W. A. (2010). Effect of leverage on risk
and stock returns: Evidence from Pakistani companies. International Research Journal
of Finance and Economics, (58), 32–49.
Fareed, Z., Ali, Z., Shahzad, F., Nazir, M. I., & Ullah, A. (2016). Determinants of
Profitability: Evidence from Power and Energy Sector. Studia Universitatis Babe-
Bolyai Oeconomica, 61(3), 59–78. https://doi.org/10.1515/subboec-2016-0005

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Fitzsimmons, J., Steffens, P., & Douglas, E. (2011). Growth and Profitability in Small and

Medium Sized Australian Firms. SSRN Electronic Journal, 2036(February).

https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1263734

Flamini, V., McDonald, C., & Schumacher, L. (2009). The Determinants of Commercial

Bank Profitability in Sub-Saharan Africa. IMF Working Papers (Vol. 09).

https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451871623.001

Hansen, V., & Huniarti. (2014). Pengaruh Family Control, Size, Sales Growth, Dan Leverage

Terhadap Profitabilitas dan Nilai Perusahaan Pada Sektor Perdagangan, Jasa, dan

Investasi. Business Accounting Review, 2(1), 10.

Lim, H., & Rokhim, R. (2020). Factors affecting profitability of pharmaceutical company: an

Indonesian evidence. Journal of Economic Studies. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-01-

2020-0021

Magoutas, A., Chountalas, P., & Konstantinidou, C. (2017). The effect of financial factors

and firm size on the profitability of Greek private healthcare organizations in times of

economic crisis. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative
Sciences, 95(August), 118–129.
Nobanee, H. (2009). Working Capital Management and Firm’s Profitability: An Optimal

Cash Conversion Cycle. SSRN Electronic Journal, (September).

https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1471230
Samo, A. H., & Murad, H. (2019). Impact of liquidity and financial leverage on firm’s

profitability – an empirical analysis of the textile industry of Pakistan. Research
Journal of Textile and Apparel, 23(4), 291–305.

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-09-2018-0055
Singhania, M., & Mehta, P. (2017). Working capital management and firms’ profitability:

evidence from emerging Asian countries. South Asian Journal of Business Studies,
6(1), 80–97. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAJBS-09-2015-0060

Ting, I. W. K., Kweh, Q. L., & Chan, Y. C. (2014). Does organizational growth contribute to

profitability? Evidence from Malaysian public listed companies. International Journal
of Business and Society, 15(2), 267–276.

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KESEDIAAN DAN KESANGGUPAN PEMBAYARAN ZAKAT
PERNIAGAAN OLEH USAHAWAN PERNIAAGAAN KECIL DAN

SEDERHANA DI DAERAHA KUALA MUDA/YAN, KEDAH

*Nabila Ahmad1, Hafizah Hammad Ahmad Khan1, Azira Rahim1 & Rosmaiza Abd Ghani1

1Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Kedah Branch,
Malaysia

*Corresponding E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRAK
Zakat perniagaan merupakan salah satu zakat yang penting untuk meningkatkan kutipan
zakat secara keseluruhannya dalam pembangunan ummah. Kutipan zakat menunjukkan
peningkatan saban tahun namum dengan kehadiran wabak penyakit dan masalah ekonomi
negara sedikit sebanyak akan menjejaskan perniagaan kecil dan sederhana dan seterusnya
kutipan zakat perniagaan dijangka mengalami penurunan. Kajian ini dijalankan bagi
mengenalpasti faktor-faktor untuk meningkatkan kesediaan dan kesanggupan usahawan
untuk membayar zakat perniagaan. Kajian soal selidik terhadap 100 usahawan dan kajian
temuduga kepada 10 orang usahawan aka dijalankan. Analisa Korelasi Rank Spearman akan
digunakan bagi mengenalpasti kedudukan terpenting faktor-faktor yang tersebut. Dapatan
kajian dijangka berpotensi menunjukkan kesemua faktor adalah penting dalam meningkatkan
kesediaan dan kesanggupan usahawan untuk melaksanakan zakat perniagaan. Kajian ini
dijangka dapat memberi panduan kepada pihak usahawan, lembaga zakat dan kerajaan bagi
mempergiatkan usaha meningkatkan kutipan zakat perniagaan.

Kata Kunci: Gelagat tertanggap; Norma Subjektif; Sikap; Zakat Perniagaaan

1.0 PENGENALAN
Zakat pendapatan dan perniagaan merupakan zakat yang terpenting dalam membantu
meningkatkan kutipan zakat setiap tahun. Sungguhpun statistik kutipan zakat perniagaan ada
menunjukkan peningkatan, tetapi jumlah tidak dapat dipastikan samada jumlah kutipan ini
akan terus bertambah memandangkan situasi yang meruncing seperti wabak penyakit dan
masalah ekonomi yang dialami di seluruh dunia kebelakangan ini. Menurut Ram Al Jaffri
(2011), sikap peniaga dan pengaruh sosial mempengaruhi keputusan peniaga untuk
membayar zakat perniagaan. Faktor norma subjektif iaitu pengaruh sosial seseorang
menyumbang kepada sesuatu gelagat. Faktor kawalan gelagat tertanggap ialah persepsi
mudah atau sukar melakukan sesuatu (Najwa et al., 2019). Kesedaran dan kefahaman
seseorang terhadap zakat perniagaan juga merupakan salah satu faktor penting (Hasan 2005;
Zilani et al., 2018).

2.0 SOROTAN LITERATUR

2.1 Sikap terhadap Zakat Perniagaan
Menurut Ajzen (1991), sikap dapat mengukur samada seseorang individu itu mempunyai
tanggapan atau penilaian yang baik atau tidak baik terhadap sesuatu gelagat. Sikap seseorang
peniaga terhadap zakat perniagaan adalah berdasarkan penilaian peniaga itu sendiri samada
adakah ia menguntungkan atau tidak untuk membayar zakat pendapatan (Ram Al Jaffri et al.,
2007).

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2.2 Norma Subjektif
Dalam hasi kajian oleh Zainol dan Kamil (2009) mendapati bahawa seseorang individu yang
beragama Islam cenderung mengambil pendapat individu Muslim yang lain dalam hal-hal
agama Islam seperti zakat. Pandangan daripada kaum keluarga seperti pasangan suami dan
isteri dan ibu bapa serta dari guru-guru dan rakan-rakan juga mampu memberikan pengaruh
ke arah gelagat pembayaran zakat.

2.3 Kawalan Gelagat Ditanggap
Berdasarkan kajian yang dijalankan oleh Malebana (2014), faktor gelagat tertanggap
mempengaruhi niat keusahawanan di kalangan pelajar universiti secara signifikan. Kajian
Zainol dan Kamil (2009) mendapati faktor kawalan gelagat ditanggap mampu meningkatkan
ramalan niat untuk melaksanakan zakat.

2.4 Kesedaran, Kefahaman dan Pengetahuan
Kajian oleh Hairunnizam et al. (2005) menunjukkan golongan muda mempunyai tahap
kesedaran yang rendah terhadap tanggungjawab untuk membayar zakat tetapi berpotensi
untuk membayar zakat pada masa hadapan sekiranya terdapat kempen atau program
berkenaan zakat dijalankan.

3.0 METODOLOGI KAJIAN
Kajian ini dijalankan di kalangan peniaga perusahaan kecil dan sederhana (IKS) di sekitar
Daerah Kuala Muda/Yan, Kedah. 100 perusahaan kecil dan sederhana akan dipilih untuk
menjawab borang soal selidik manakala sesi temuduga akan dijalankan merangkumi 5
peniaga yang pernah membayar zakat dan 5 peniaga yang belum membayar zakat. Analisa
Korelasi Rank Spearman (Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient) akan digunakan bagi
melihat objektif kajian mengikut korelasi berpangkat (ranking). Nilai korelasi terletak di
antara -1 hingga +1. Semakin nilai korelasi menghampiri 1, maka semakin kuat hubungan
korelasi di antara pemboleh ubah bersandar dan pemboleh ubah tidak bersandar. Perisian

Stata16, akan digunakan bagi tujuan ini. Formula matematik adalah Rs = 1 –
dimana RS nilai adalah korelasi Spearman (rho), di ialah perbezaan kedudukan (ranking) di
antara dua pembolehubah, 6 adalah angka tetap (constant) manakala N ialah jumlah
pemerhatian (observation). Hipotesis yang digunakan ialah:

H0 = RS = 0; Tiada korelasi diantara kedua-dua pembolehubah
Ha = RS ≠ 0; Kedua-dua pembolehubah mempunyai korelasi

4.0 HASIL DAN PERBINCANGAN
Kesemua faktor-faktor yang digarap daripada teori gelagat terancang oleh Ajzen (1991)
dijangka dijangka menunjukkan kepentingan dalam meningkatkan kesediaan dan
kesanggupan usahawan kecil dan sederhana untuk membayar zakat perniagaan. Berdasarkan
analisa data yang menggunakan kaedah Analisa Korelasi Rank Spearman, kedudukan faktor
terpenting diikuti dengan faktor-faktor yang lainnya dijangka dapat dikenalpasti. Terdapat
juga faktor tambahan iaitu kesedaran, kefahaman dan pengetahuan usahawan terhadap ilmu
zakat perniagaan yang dijangka menunjukkan kepentingan dalam mempengaruhi kesediaan
dan kesanggupan mereka untuk membayar zakat perniagaan. Faktor ini dapat diperolehi
dengan kempen yang dijalankan oleh pusat zakat, peranan media massa dan media sosial
serta institusi pembelajaran seperti sekolah dan universiti. Kajian ini menjangkakan dapat
mempengaruhi usaha daripada semua pihak dalam memastikan kutipan zakat perniagaan

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akan terus bertambah walaupun terdapat masalah pandemik COVID-19 dan kegawatan
ekonomi.

5.0 KESIMPULAN
Faktor-faktor seperti sikap, norma subjektif, gelagat tertanggap serta kesedaran, kefahaman
dan pengetahuan memainkan peranan yang penting untuk meningkatkan tahap kesediaan dan
kesanggupan usahawan peniaga kecil dan sederhana untuk membayar zakat perniagaan.
Dapatan daripada kajian ini berpotensi untuk membantu pihak lembaga zakat dan kerajaan
untuk meningkatkan tahap kesedaran dan kefaham peniaga, merangka strategi dan
menggubal dasar yang bersesuaian serta berkesan dalam usaha memperkasakan institusi zakat
dalam membantu kemaslahatan ummah sejagat. Kesedaran, kefahaman serta pengetahuan
kepada para peniaga juga dapat dipertingkatkan.

PENGHARGAAN
Sekalung penghargaan dan terima kasih diucapkan kepada Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah
yang telah memberikan geran penyelidikan ini.

RUJUKAN
Ajzen, I., (1991). The Theory of Planned Behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human

Decision Processes, 50, 179-211.
Hairunnizam W., Sanep A. & Mohd Ali M. N. (2005). Kesedaran Membayar Zakat: Apakah

Faktor Penentunya? IJMS, 12(2), 171-189
Hasan, B., & Mohd-Shahnaz, S. (2005). Kajian terhadap faktor yang mempengaruhi

pembayaran zakat perniagaan di kalangan usahawan: Kes kajian Terengganu. Kertas
kerja dibentangkan semasa Seminar Ekonomi dan Kewangan Islam, ESSET Bangi,
Selangor.
Malebana, M. J., (2014). Entreprenurial Intentions and Entreprenurial Motivation of Soth
African Rural University Students. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 6(9),
709-726
Najwa, M. K., Nur Shahirah, A. & Pg Mohd Faezul Fikri, A. O., (2019). Kesediaan
Pembayaran Zakat dalam kalangan Kakitangan Awam di Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan:
Satu Kajian Empirikal. Labuan E-Journal of Muamalat and Society, 79-91
Ram Al Jaffri, S., Zainol, B., Kamil, M. I., & Md Hairi, M. H (2008). Gelagat kepatuhan
zakat perniagaan: Aplikasi teori tindakan beralasan. In: National Management
Conference (NAMAC) 2008, 13-14 December 2008, Primula Beach Resort,
Terengganu.
Ram Al Jaffri, S., Zainol, B., Kamil, M. I., & Md Hairi, M. H. (2009). Peraturan Pembayaran
Zakat Kepada Institusi Zakat: Sikap Peniaga Dan Kesannya Terhadap Gelagat
Pembayaran Zakat Perniagaan. Jurnal Syariah, 17(3), 607-630
Zilani, N. N., Noor, M. A. M., and Wahid, H., (2018). Kefahaman dan Kesedaran Membayar
Zakat. Prosiding Persidangan Kebangsaan Ekonomi Malaysia, 377-388.
http://www.ukm.my/hairun/kertas%20kerja/artikel%20najihah%202018.pdf
Perniagaan: Kajian Terhadap Peniaga Kecil di Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur. Prosiding
Kebangsaan Ekonomi Malaysia, ISSN: 2231-962X
Zainol Bidin dan Kamil Md. Idris, (2009). Sikap, Norma Subjektif dan Kawalan Gelagat
Ditanggap terhadap Niat Gelagat Kepatuhan Zakat Pendapatan Gaji. IJMS, 16(1), 31-
33.

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BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW OF OPEN ACCESS FUNDED RESEARCH
AMONG MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITIES IN SCOPUS

*Noor Masliana Razlan1*, Muslim Ismail@Ahmad2 & Mohamad Rahimi Mohamad
Rosman1

1Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Kelantan
Branch, Machang Campus, Malaysia

2Perpustakaan Tengku Anis, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Kelantan Branch,
Malaysia

*Corresponding E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Open access research can accelerate the process of discovery and translation of research to
benefit the public by sharing results with other researchers in a timely manner. This paper
aims to analyse citation data on open access and study the range of article processing charges
(APC) for journal open access in Scopus. This study applies bibliometric analysis as the
research methodology. This exploratory research surveyed citation data from Scopus using
affiliation identifier to retrieve two Malaysian research universities indexed in Scopus. Data
retrieval is limited to three years 2019-2021 and social sciences subject is chosen as the
subject. A total of 266 research publications from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and 988
from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) were retrieved. Funding grants were examined,
and average cost of APC were discussed. The findings of this study revealed difference range
of stakeholders in research funding from local, international, private, public, governments
and ministries. The findings also provide insights and perspective of open access funded
research in terms of grants given and average cost of APCs.

Keywords: Article processing charges; Bibliometric; Open access; Open science; Research
publication

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