JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 5, 2025
/PRNewswire/ -- In terms of paragraph 3.4(b)(i) of the Listing
Requirements of the JSE Limited (JSE), a company listed on the JSE
is required to publish a Trading statement as soon as it is
satisfied that a reasonable degree of certainty exists that the
financial results for the next period to be reported on, will
differ by at least 20% from the financial result for the previous
corresponding period.
Accordingly, stakeholders are advised that, for the six months
ended 31 December 2025:
- Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation
and amortisation (adjusted EBITDA*) is expected to be between
R22 billion and R25 billion compared to the prior half
year adjusted EBITDA of R28 billion, representing a decrease
of between 11% and 22%;
- Earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be between R6,00 and
R8,00 compared to the prior half year EPS of R15,19 (representing a
decrease of between 47% and 61%); and
- Headline earnings per share (HEPS) are expected to be between
R13,00 and R15,00 compared to the prior half year HEPS of R20,37
(representing a decrease of between 26% and 36%); and
The decrease in earnings in the period is primarily due to:
- A 13% decline in the average Rand per barrel of Brent Crude Oil
price and a significant decline in refining margins and fuel price
differentials;
- A 5% decrease in sales volumes associated with lower
production and/or lower market demand as detailed in the Production
and Sales Metrics published on 23 January
2025, which can be found on our website:
https://www.sasol.com/sasol-sens/production-and-sales-metrics-six-months-ended-31-december-2024;
- Notable non-cash adjustments (before taxation) including:
- A net loss of R6,2 billion from remeasurement items compared to
a net loss of R5,8 billion in the prior half year, mainly due to
the Secunda and Sasolburg liquid fuels refinery cash
generating units remaining fully impaired. The full amount of costs
capitalised during the current period of R5,6 billion are
impaired;
- Unrealised losses of R0,1 billion on the translation of
monetary assets and liabilities, and valuation of financial
instruments and derivative contracts compared to unrealised gains
of R2,7 billion in the prior half year.
These negative financial impacts were partially offset by an
increase in average chemicals basket prices, stringent cost
management and efficient capital expenditure.
The financial information underpinning this trading statement
has not been reviewed and reported on by the Company's external
auditors.
Sasol remains focused on improving the performance of the
business and will present its 2025 interim financial results,
including more detail on improvement plans, on Monday, 24 February 2025 at 09h00 (SA time). This will be
followed by a market call, hosted by President and Chief Executive
Officer, Simon Baloyi, and Chief
Financial Officer, Walt Bruns, to
address questions.
Please connect to the call via the webcast link:
https://www.corpcam.com/Sasol24022025 or via teleconference call
link:
https://services.choruscall.za.com/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNumber=8853546&linkSecurityString=26eaaf0156
* Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adjusting operating profit
for depreciation, amortisation, share-based payments, remeasurement
items, change in discount rates of our rehabilitation provisions,
all unrealised translation gains and losses, and all unrealised
gains and losses on our derivatives and hedging activities.
Adjusted EBITDA is not a defined term under International
Financial Reporting Standards and may not be comparable with
similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The
aforementioned adjustments are the responsibility of the directors
of Sasol. The adjustments have been prepared for illustrative
purposes only and due to their nature, may not fairly present
Sasol´s financial position, changes in equity, results of
operations or cash flows.
For further information, please contact:
Sasol Investor Relations,
Tiffany Sydow, VP Investor
Relations
Telephone: +27 (0) 71 673 1929
investor.relations@sasol.com
Disclaimer - Forward-looking statements
Sasol may, in this document, make certain statements that are
not historical facts and relate to analyses and other information
which are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of
amounts not yet determinable. These statements may also relate to
our future prospects, expectations, developments, and business
strategies. Examples of such forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, the capital cost of our projects and the
timing of project milestones; our ability to obtain financing to
meet the funding requirements of our capital investment programme,
as well as to fund our ongoing business activities and to pay
dividends; statements regarding our future results of operations
and financial condition, and regarding future economic performance
including cost containment, cash conservation programmes and
business optimisation initiatives; recent and proposed accounting
pronouncements and their impact on our future results of operations
and financial condition; our business strategy, performance
outlook, plans, objectives or goals; statements regarding future
competition, volume growth and changes in market share in the
industries and markets for our products; our existing or
anticipated investments, acquisitions of new businesses or the
disposal of existing businesses, including estimates or projection
of internal rates of return and future profitability; our estimated
oil, gas and coal reserves; the probable future outcome of
litigation, legislative, regulatory and fiscal developments,
including statements regarding our ability to comply with future
laws and regulations; future fluctuations in refining margins and
crude oil, natural gas and petroleum and chemical product prices;
the demand, pricing and cyclicality of oil, gas and petrochemical
product prices; changes in the fuel and gas pricing mechanisms in
South Africa and their effects on
prices, our operating results and profitability; statements
regarding future fluctuations in exchange and interest rates and
changes in credit ratings; total shareholder return; our current or
future products and anticipated customer demand for these products;
assumptions relating to macroeconomics; climate change impacts and
our climate change strategies, our development of sustainability
within our businesses, our energy efficiency improvement, carbon
and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, our net zero carbon
emissions ambition and future low-carbon initiatives, including
relating to green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel; our
estimated carbon tax liability; cyber security; and statements of
assumptions underlying such statements. Words such as "believe",
"anticipate", "expect", "intend", "seek", "will", "plan", "could",
"may", "endeavour", "target", "forecast" and "project" and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but
are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. By
their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent
risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and there are
risks that the predictions, forecasts, projections, and other
forward-looking statements will not be achieved. If one or more of
these risks materialise, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, our actual results may differ materially from those
anticipated. You should understand that a number of important
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the
plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed
in such forward-looking statements. These factors and others are
discussed more fully in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F
filed on 6 September 2024 and in
other filings with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission. The list of factors discussed therein is not
exhaustive; when relying on forward-looking statements to make
investment decisions, you should carefully consider foregoing
factors and other uncertainties and events, and you should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements apply only as of the date on which they are made, and we
do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any of them,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
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SOURCE Sasol Limited
