Liquidity Management and Profitability at CIMERWA Plc, Rwanda: A Seven-Year Analysis of Financial Performance, 2018– 2024

Abstract

Liquidity management is an important component of corporate financial management because manufacturing companies must maintain sufficient resources to meet short-term obligations while deploying capital efficiently to support profitable operations. This paper examines the reported profitability trends of CIMERWA Plc in Rwanda from 2018 to 2024, focusing on return on equity , return on assets , and net profit margin , and discusses their implications for liquidity management. The analysis adopts a descriptive longitudinal approach and identifies changes in the reported profitability indicators over seven annual observations. The reported results indicate a substantial improvement from the negative profitability position recorded in 2018. NPM increased from −3.16% in 2018 to a peak of 18.31% in 2022 before declining to 15.77% in 2024. ROA increased from −0.01% in 2018 to 14.58% in 2022 before declining to 10.70% in 2024. The reported ROE indicator increased from −0.03 in 2018 to 0.22 in 2024, although its unit and calculation require confirmation. These results indicate substantial improvement in the reported profitability indicators, followed by moderation after 2022. The discussion highlights the importance of integrated cash-flow forecasting, receivables monitoring, inventory control, and coordination of short-term financial obligations. However, descriptive profitability trends alone do not establish that liquidity-management practices caused the observed changes. The paper identifies the need to examine profitability alongside company- specific liquidity indicators calculated from CIMERWA Plc's audited financial statements. It recommends consistent financial-ratio measurement, transparent documentation of data sources, and further empirical investigation into the relationship between liquidity management and profitability.

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