Does Delek Group (TLV:DLEKG) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' So it seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. As with many other companies Delek Group Ltd. (TLV:DLEKG) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

Check out our latest analysis for Delek Group

How Much Debt Does Delek Group Carry?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Delek Group had debt of ₪20.9b at the end of September 2021, a reduction from ₪22.5b over a year. However, it also had ₪3.41b in cash, and so its net debt is ₪17.5b.

How Healthy Is Delek Group's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Delek Group had liabilities of ₪12.6b falling due within a year, and liabilities of ₪19.6b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of ₪3.41b and ₪1.49b worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling ₪27.3b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This deficit casts a shadow over the ₪4.57b company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. At the end of the day, Delek Group would probably need a major re-capitalization if its creditors were to demand repayment.

We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

Delek Group's debt is 3.3 times its EBITDA, and its EBIT cover its interest expense 4.7 times over. This suggests that while the debt levels are significant, we'd stop short of calling them problematic. Notably, Delek Group made a loss at the EBIT level, last year, but improved that to positive EBIT of ₪5.8b in the last twelve months. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Delek Group will need earnings to service that debt. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So it's worth checking how much of the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is backed by free cash flow. In the last year, Delek Group's free cash flow amounted to 36% of its EBIT, less than we'd expect. That weak cash conversion makes it more difficult to handle indebtedness.

Our View

Mulling over Delek Group's attempt at staying on top of its total liabilities, we're certainly not enthusiastic. Having said that, its ability to grow its EBIT isn't such a worry. We're quite clear that we consider Delek Group to be really rather risky, as a result of its balance sheet health. So we're almost as wary of this stock as a hungry kitten is about falling into its owner's fish pond: once bitten, twice shy, as they say. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Delek Group (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.