Sasol’s Ebitda — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation — for the six months to the end of December 2021 rose by 12%, compared with the same period in 2020, to R24.3-billion. But its headline earnings were down 20% to around R9.5-billion.
Restoring the dividend is a priority — the last one paid out was an interim dividend for the 2019 financial year — but the recent surge in global oil prices raises the prospect that it could be reinstated sooner rather than later. The industry’s benchmark Brent Crude is up by more than 25% since the start of 2022 and at over $90 a barrel has regained levels that seemed out of reach less than two years ago and which will flow to Sasol’s bottom line.
BP, Shell exit Sapref in Durban, shutting it and Sasol withholds dividends again. Something's afoot in SA's liquid fuels industry and the public's not privy to it. 🤔