Sasol earnings expected to drop by as much as 84%

SASOLBURG - Sasol says it expects to report a massive drop in annual earnings as operational challenges, higher costs and volatile market conditions hit. News24 reports the synthetic fuels and chemicals producer expects to report a decline of between 74% and 84% in basic earnings per share for the year ended in June 2023. The company's share price was down over 5% by 09:30 am this morning. Sasol said its results were impacted by a combination of operational challenges and a volatile global economic landscape which included weaker global economic growth, higher inflation, depressed chemicals prices and higher feedstock and energy costs. The group said business performance was further impacted by the underperformance of state-owned enterprises in South Africa, which constrained its supply chains and resultant sales volumes. Sasol said it has seen a notable improvement in operational performance in the second half of the 2023 financial year, underpinned by focused mitigation plans to address the production instabilities experienced earlier in the year. PHOTO: (Supplied)