Liquidity Ratios of the World's Leading Publicly Traded Oil and Gas Corporations as an Indicator of Investment Attractiveness of Domestic Vertically Integrated Oil and Gas Companies

Abstract

Subject. The article considers the main liquidity ratios of twenty five leading publicly traded oil and gas companies from 2006 through 2018. Objectives. The aim is to determine the current level of values of the main indicators of liquidity of the leading publicly traded oil and gas companies, to identify the key trends in their change within the studied period and establish those factors that caused this transformation. Methods. The study employs methods of comparative and financial-economic analysis, generalization of materials of consolidated income statements. Results. The study determined trends in key liquidity indicators in the stock market sector of the industry and established the main factors that contributed to this transformation, based on the comprehensive analysis results of annual reports published by 25 oil and gas companies. The global financial shock and subsequent protracted industry crisis did not lead to significant difficulties in ensuring the liquidity of large corporations in the industry. The paper established a slight increase in the level of current liquidity of the leading publicly traded oil and gas companies. This result was achieved by increasing the share of the most liquid component of assets, i.e. cash and its equivalents that have no restrictions on their use. This confirms a more significant increase in instant liquidity. On the contrary, the importance of short-term receivables in the structure of current assets of publicly traded oil and gas companies decreased. Consequently, the aspiration of industry corporations to minimize the cash operating cycle period became a major factor in the transformation. It was revealed that these changes occurred under a certain decrease in the share of equity in total liabilities. Meanwhile, the ratio between all sources of financing and equity remained within an acceptable range of values. Conclusions. Leading publicly traded oil and gas companies are able to maintain their own liquidity even in times of crisis. The greatest attention in the industry is paid to increasing the immediate liquidity indicators.