The stronger rand against the dollar, oil price volatility, and lower refining margins all impacted JSE-listed Sasol’s business for the three months ended 30 September 2024.
In a trading update published on its website, the petrochemicals giant noted that its market guidance for 2025 is largely intact, except for Natref, which is revised downwards. It also foresees lower fuel sales volumes.
The group’s share price fell back to R107.18 in early morning trade, down more than 5% from the previous day.
Sasol publishes a set of business performance metrics for each of its businesses every quarter. These metrics include production and sales information.
It notes that the global chemical markets remain oversupplied, with higher input costs and weak chemical prices and demand, which affected its margins.
Simon Baloyi, Sasol president and CEO, says the group is responding to the macroeconomic volatility through stringent cost and capital management and targeted operational improvements.
“[W]e have made good progress on our transition agenda … to become sustainable into the future.”
In the first quarter of FY2025, saleable mining production was 1% lower than the previous quarter due to ongoing coal quality and operational challenges. This has led to higher external coal purchases.
Mining cost per production tracks the upper end of market guidance of R600 to R640 per tonne.
In Mozambique, gas production for the first quarter of FY2025 was 1% higher than the previous quarter despite the planned shutdown at the central processing facility in September 2024. However, it was 3% higher than the corresponding quarter in FY2024.
External gas sales in South Africa for the quarter under review were flat compared to the prior quarter but 1% lower than the first quarter in FY204 due to the planned maintenance shutdown at the central processing facility.
Sasol’s production volumes at its Secunda operations, where synthetic fuel and chemicals are produced from coal, were 11% lower than the previous quarter. This was mainly due to a phased shutdown in Q1 FY25. In addition, it was 2% lower than the corresponding quarter in FY2024, “mainly due to ongoing coal quality challenges and lower equipment availability”.
Natref production was 24% higher than the previous quarter but 27% lower than Q1 FY2024. Sasol ascribes this to the planned shutdown along with start-up delays in the first quarter of 2025.
Liquid fuels sales volumes for the first quarter of FY2025 were 1% lower than the previous quarter and 9% lower than the first quarter in FY2024 due to lower production at Natref and Secunda.
As for its chemicals business, sales revenue from its South African operations was 9% lower, driven by lower sales volumes, with the average basket price remaining flat.
However, sales revenue was 6% higher than the corresponding period in FY2024, driven by 11% higher sales prices offset by 5% lower sales volumes. – moneyweb.co.za
