ANALYZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE RATIOS AND PROFITABILITY: A PANEL DATA STUDY ON BIST-LISTED HEALTHCARE COMPANIES

The health sector is a critical public service area in terms of the quality of life of individuals and public health. States allocate resources to health services from their general budgets, but it is often not possible for these services to meet all health needs. Therefore, the presence of the private sector in the field of health and the necessity to provide sustainable financial resources gain importance. While private healthcare companies contribute to the healthcare system with innovative service models, financial profitability stands out as a determining factor for sustainability in the sector. In this context, the aim of the study is to determine the factors affecting the financial profitability of companies operating in the health sector traded in Borsa Istanbul (BIST). The data used in the study consist of quarterly balance sheets and income statements of 12 healthcare companies traded in Borsa Istanbul. The quarterly data used covers the period of 2019/4Q-2024/2Q. Within the framework of the objectives of the study, panel data analysis was conducted. Since there are the same number of time observations for each cross-sectional observation, the Balanced Panel Data method is used. According to the results of the analysis, equity turnover and asset turnover have a significant effect on return on assets ratio at 1% level; leverage ratio has a significant effect on return on assets ratio at 5% level; liquidity ratio and debt ratio have a significant effect on return on assets ratio at 10% level.