Reports

Sasol Trading Statement For The Six Months Ended 31 December 2021

JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 8, 2022 — Sasol is expected to deliver a mixed set of results for the six months ended 31 December 2021 (2022 financial half year). Improved Brent crude oil price, refining margins and chemical prices resulted in a notable gross margin improvement from the prior half year, combined with strong cost and capital expenditure performance. These benefits were partly offset by operational challenges in our South African value chains which resulted in lower production, as reported in our Business Performance Metrics SENS announcement on 25 January 2022.

Sasol´s adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (adjusted EBITDA**) for the six months ended 31 December 2021 is expected to increase by between 66% and 76% from R18,6 billion in the prior half year, to between R30,9 billion and R32,7 billion.

This is due to a strong recovery in Brent crude oil and chemical prices, partly offset by lower sales volumes for chemicals and energy.

Shareholders are advised that, for the 2022 financial half year:

Earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be between R22,81 and R25,15 compared to the prior half year earnings per share of R23,41 (representing a change of between (3%) and 7%); Headline earnings per share (HEPS) are expected to be between R14,25 and R16,17 compared to the prior half year headline earnings per share of R19,16 (representing a decrease by between 16% and 26%); and Core HEPS (CHEPS*) are expected to be between R22,13 and R22,91 compared to the prior half year CHEPS of R7,86.

Notable non-cash adjustments (before taxation) for the six months ended 31 December 2021 include: Unrealised losses of R4,9 billion on the translation of monetary assets and liabilities and valuation of financial instruments and derivative contracts; Remeasurement items net gain of R5,8 billion, mainly due to a gain of R4,9 billion on the realisation of the foreign currency translation reserve (FCTR) on the divestment of Sasol Canada’s shale gas assets and a R1,4 billion reversal of impairment on the Chemicals Work Up & Heavy Alcohols value chain due to a higher price outlook on the back of a sustained increase in demand for alcohols into the personal hygiene market during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.

The financial information on which this trading statement is based has not been reviewed and reported on by the Company’s external auditors.

Sasol will release its 2022 interim financial results on Monday, 21 February 2022. Sasol’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Fleetwood Grobler, and Chief Financial Officer, Paul Victor, will present the results. The pre-recorded presentation will be available on 21 February 2022 on the following link: https://www.corpcam.com/Sasol21022022. Fleetwood Grobler and Paul Victor will host a conference call via webcast on 21 February 2022 at 15h00 (SA time) to discuss the results and provide an update of the business. Please confirm your participation by registering online: https://www.corpcam.com/Sasol21022022Q.

Core HEPS is calculated by adjusting headline earnings with non-recurring items, earnings losses of significant capital projects (exceeding R4 billion) which have reached beneficial operation and are still ramping up, all translation gains and losses (realised and unrealised), all gains and losses on our derivatives and hedging activities (realised and unrealised), and share-based payments on implementation of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) transactions. Adjustments in relation to the valuation of our derivatives at period end are to remove volatility from earnings as these instruments are valued using forward curves and other market factors at the reporting date and could vary from period to period. We believe core headline earnings are a useful measure of the group´s sustainable operating performance.

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 and Core HEPS are not defined terms under IFRS 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.

Image Courtesy Sasol

This article was shared with Prittle Prattle News as a Press Release by PRNewswire

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