Sustainability Performance Reporting and Financial Performance of Quoted Manufacturing Companies in Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jefrr/V2E2/2026-03Keywords:
Sustainability, Performance, Return on Assets, Reporting, Manufacturing.Abstract
Consequent on the extent of inimical externalities from corporate entities among global economies, the business stakeholders’ strictly demand for sustainability reporting outcome to assess the business sustainability performance, transparency and legitimacy. Therefore, this study examines the effects of sustainability performance reporting on the financial performance of quoted manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Community development cost disclosure, employee healthcare cost disclosure and environmental protection cost disclosure are the dimensions of the predictor variable while return on assets measures financial performance. Ex post Facto Research design was employed for the study. Specific econometric models were designed to extract data by content analysis for a period of 2010 - 2024. Panel regression analysis techniques with the aid E-views were employed to estimate the residuals of the econometric models for multi-year period on audited annual reports of the quoted manufacturing firms. The findings show that reporting community development expenses has a favourable impact on return on assets. Similarly, disclosure of employee healthcare costs has a positive and statistically significant effect on return on assets, while disclosure of environmental protection costs has a positive coefficient but is statistically insignificant, implying that investments in sustainability performance reporting stimulate the patronage and engagement of stakeholders in manufacturing firms, but the long-run effect is industry specific. The study indicates that investing in sustainability performance reporting reduces regulatory risks, improves the reputation and brand image of organizations, and maintains market trust in dealing with the social contract to achieve financial performance. It is recommended that manufacturing business management incorporate sustainability performance reporting into the corporate reporting framework because it increases return on assets, ensures long-term competitive advantage, reduces regulatory risks, and maintains public trust through stakeholder involvement. Furthermore, regulatory bodies should develop a sustainability reporting index for the manufacturing industry to promote comparative reporting. Incentives such as tax credits or green finance might be used by institutions to encourage acceptable behaviour. The Nigerian manufacturing industry proved that sustainability performance reporting does not just to drive operational costs, but also serve as a strategic financial performance lever, assisting in the development of a competitive reputation, risk mitigation, and stakeholder expectations.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Syder, Inuadume Daniel (Ph.D), Aca., Elee Chidi (P.Hd) (Author)
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