KEX

What You Should Know

Kirby Corporation is the largest operator of inland tank barges in the United States, transporting bulk liquid products — petrochemicals, refined products, agricultural chemicals, and black oil — along the inland waterways and coastal routes, and also runs a distribution-and-services segment for engines, transmissions, and power-generation equipment. Providing marine transportation and industrial distribution/repair services is a permissible activity, so the business-activity screen passes. The verdict depends on the balance sheet: Kirby operates a capital-intensive barge fleet funded partly with interest-bearing debt, so confirm the total-debt-to-market-cap ratio against the 33% threshold using the latest filings — the deciding screen — and confirm the receivables ratio against the board's threshold. Interest income on cash should be checked against the 5% threshold and the corresponding portion of returns purified. Assuming the ratios hold, KEX is generally screened as halal, with routine purification of minor interest income.