EFFECT OF HUMAN CAPITAL ON THE PROFITABILITY OF BREWERY FIRMS IN NIGERIA FROM 2017 – 2020 (A STUDY OF NIGERIAN BOTTLING COMPANY)

ABSTRACT The study examined the effect of human capital on the profitability of brewery firms in Nigeria a study of Nigeria bottling company from 2004 to 2015. The study sought to determine whether human resource expenditure has an impact on the profitability of manufacturing companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. The study employed a sample of ten manufacturing companies that were listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. The majority of the data used in this study came from secondary sources, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. While panel regression and correlation were used as inferential statistics to test the hypotheses, mean, standard deviation, kurtosis, and skewness made up the descriptive statistics. The study found that all of the explanatory variables had a positive relationship with profitability; however, the health expenditures had a higher beta value (27.8609) than the expenditures on training, salaries and wages, and contributory pensions with beta values of 2.6752, 0.3107, and 3.4519, respectively and thus contributed more to the firms' profitability. Additionally, the study reveals that, at the 5% significance level, net profit can only be meaningfully predicted by health expenditures. The study concluded that the profitability of Nigerian brewery firms was significantly affected by their human capital. Companies that prioritize, maintain, and value their human capital as a pure asset will have employees who are highly motivated.