ANALYSIS OF THE CAPITAL STRUCTURE FORMATION: THE CASE OF GEORGIAN IT COMPANIES

Abstract

Any country’s economy benefits significantly from the sector of information technologies. As the data demonstrate, the global information technology market has not only remained stable, but is expected to expand in 2021 due to changes in social life, employment, and education caused by the global COVID-19 virus pandemic. While information technology is vital to any country’s advancement, its growth in developing countries is being hindered by lack of skilled labour force, underdeveloped market infrastructure, insufficient financial mechanisms to stimulate innovative projects, and weak legislative framework. IT companies are characterized by a high degree of risk and uncertainty, a reliance on external sources of financing in the early stages, and an unattractiveness to conservative investors. In this regard, the issue of capital formation for innovative companies in the IT sector to ensure their effective functioning becomes especially important. The purpose of this study is to analyze the formation of financial sources and capital structure of Georgian IT companies based on the analysis of 50 IT companies in Georgia. The analysis is based on the usage of the main financial ratios of companies’ performance, taking into account the specifics of the IT sector companies. The study revealed that the capital structure of Georgian information technology firms is more consistent with the Pecking order theory, with almost no long-term loans and a small share of short-term loans. Equity and retained earnings are the primary sources of funding for IT businesses. This was supported by the legal exemption of corporations from income tax payments in the case of net profit non-distribution.