Is Delek US Holdings (NYSE:DK) Using Debt Sensibly?

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. It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. Importantly, Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DK) does carry debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

See our latest analysis for Delek US Holdings

What Is Delek US Holdings's Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of March 2020 Delek US Holdings had US$2.26b of debt, an increase on US$1.77b, over one year. On the flip side, it has US$784.9m in cash leading to net debt of about US$1.47b.

A Look At Delek US Holdings's Liabilities

The latest balance sheet data shows that Delek US Holdings had liabilities of US$1.63b due within a year, and liabilities of US$2.98b falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$784.9m as well as receivables valued at US$531.2m due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$3.29b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the US$1.25b company itself, as if a child were struggling under the weight of an enormous back-pack full of books, his sports gear, and a trumpet. So we'd watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. After all, Delek US Holdings would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Delek US Holdings's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Over 12 months, Delek US Holdings made a loss at the EBIT level, and saw its revenue drop to US$8.9b, which is a fall of 11%. We would much prefer see growth.

Caveat Emptor

Not only did Delek US Holdings's revenue slip over the last twelve months, but it also produced negative earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). Indeed, it lost US$86m at the EBIT level. If you consider the significant liabilities mentioned above, we are extremely wary of this investment. Of course, it may be able to improve its situation with a bit of luck and good execution. Nevertheless, we would not bet on it given that it vaporized US$210m in cash over the last twelve months, and it doesn't have much by way of liquid assets. So we consider this a high risk stock and we wouldn't be at all surprised if the company asks shareholders for money before long. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Delek US Holdings (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

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