Financial derivatives in the South African mining industry

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to identify factors which influence the decision to use financial derivatives in the South African mining industry and then to establish their importance to the industry.The research incorporated both qualitative and quantitative primary research phases. The qualitative survey formed the questionnaire framework for the quantitative phase. The quantitative survey formed the bulk of the analysis, and both mean rank tests and factor analysis were employed to interpret the data. Thirteen factors, influencing the decision to use financial derivatives, were identified. However, statistically significant mean rank tests (where p < 0.05) indicated that, out of the initial thirteen factors, the South African mining industry viewed the following to be the most important: 1. Change the Volatility of Cash Flows 2. Improve Value of the Firm 3. Change the Volatility of Accounting Earnings 4. The Size of the Firm 5. The Perceptions of Derivatives Use by Investors, Regulators and the Public It was also found that combinations of factors, rather than individual factors, influence the decision to use derivatives. Therefore, a factor analysis was conducted to identify these various combinations. The analysis yielded seven broadly defined combinations of factors which incorporated the top five factors and were able to explain most of the variance observed from the original thirteen factors. These seven combinations were:  Perceptions and External Finances  Cost of Capital and the Value of the Firm  Volatility of Accounting Earnings  Size of Firm  Availability of Information  Financial Distress  Political and Country Instability Furthermore, outputs indicated that the use of financial derivatives and the relative importance of factors in terms of derivative usage may be influenced by factors other than those discussed in this research.