JOHANNESBURG, April 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sasol has
published its production and sales performance metrics for the nine
months ended 31 March 2019 on the
Company's website at www.sasol.com, under the Investor Centre
section or via this URL:
https://www.sasol.com/investor-centre/financial-reporting/business-performance-metrics
Overview
Sasol delivered an improved quarterly production and sales
performance. Our production volumes have stabilised post the total
West factory shutdown at our Secunda Synfuels Operations (SSO)
during the first half of FY19. Our Lake Charles Chemicals Project
(LCCP) is progressing with the continued ramp-up of the linear low
density polyethylene (LLDPE) unit, following the achievement of
beneficial operation (BO) of this unit in February 2019.
Operating Business Units
Mining productivity continues to track towards targeted
productivity levels. Our productivity rate improved by 10% from the
previous year to 1 170 t/cm/s for the period ending 31 March 2019 and our stock piles have been
managed optimally to fully meet internal customer demand. Current
indications are that Mining will achieve production levels of
approximately 38 million tons for the full year, aligned to the
requirements of our value chain customers. At our Mozambican
upstream operations, we delivered a robust production performance,
in line with expectations. We expect to achieve our production
target of between 114 - 118 bscf for FY19.
Regional Operating Hubs
Secunda Synfuels Operations (SSO) maintained stable production
in Q3 FY19, continuing to support a normalised run-rate of 7,8
million tons per annum. Stable production at SSO has enabled us to
offset the previously reported 6% reduction in production volumes
for the 1H FY19, now resulting in a 3% reduction in volumes
compared to the prior year. We expect to achieve the upper end of
our planned production targets of 7,5 - 7,6 million tons for the
year. In Sasolburg, Natref continued with its improved performance
and achieved a production run rate of 636m³/h for FY19 year to
date, and our Sasolburg operations continue to deliver stable
production post the planned shutdowns. In Europe, our operations were negatively
impacted by a force majeure on external ethylene supplies into our
Marl site, resulting in a reduction in production volumes for FY19
year to date.
Strategic Business Units
Our Energy business exceeded our prior period liquid fuels sales
volumes by 4%, enabled through higher SSO and Natref production. We
remain on track to achieve the upper end of our previous sales
volumes market guidance of approximately 57 - 58 million barrels.
We are pursuing our retail strategy and opened five new Retail
Convenience Centres (RCCs) and divested from four non-profitable
RCCs year to date. We continue to target 15 new RCCs for the
financial year. ORYX GTL achieved an average utilisation rate of
86%, as a result of the extended shutdown.
Base Chemicals delivered a strong performance in Q3 FY19 which
resulted in a 9% improvement in volumes compared to Q2 FY19. The
Base Chemicals business (excluding US produced products) achieved a
6% improvement in volumes compared to Q2 FY19 post the extended SSO
shutdowns during 1H FY19. This was enabled by largely stable
operations at our production facilities in South Africa. At our US Polymers businesses,
the high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant continues to ramp up
production during this financial year and the plant is expected to
achieve an average utilisation rate of 80 - 90% for the full year.
Our new LLDPE plant, one of the LCCP units, reached beneficial
operation during Q3 FY19 and management continues to focus on the
successful ramp-up of the plant. Notwithstanding the 6% decrease
year to date in overall Base Chemicals sales volumes compared to
the prior year, we maintain our expectation that our annual sales
volumes (excluding US produced products) will be 1% lower compared
to the previous financial year.
Performance Chemicals sales volumes increased by 4% quarter on
quarter but decreased by 4% compared to the prior year, mainly due
to the force majeure in Europe in
Q2 FY19, planned shutdowns and a softer macro-environment in
Europe and Asia. As a consequence of a slower recovery
from unplanned supply constraints, we expect our sales volumes for
the full year to be 1 - 2% below the previous year (excluding
LCCP). In Rand terms, we have seen continued strong margins over
the reporting period.
Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP)
At Lake Charles, we continue to focus on safely improving
productivity in the field and bringing the plants to mechanical
completion and then beneficial operation. The project continued
with its exceptional safety record with a RCR of 0,11. Overall
project completion is at 96%. We are tracking the schedule and the
upper end of the cost estimate provided to the market in
February 2019. We expect the Ethylene
Oxide / Ethylene Glycol unit to reach beneficial operation in
June 2019 as per previous
guidance.
Market Performance
During the period ending 31 March
2019, we experienced higher average crude oil prices
compared to the prior year, which benefitted our Energy business.
This was offset by weaker refining margins, due to lower petrol
differentials. Our chemicals businesses are experiencing softer
prices in some end-markets. The group benefitted from the weaker
exchange rate during the period ending 31
March 2019 compared to the prior year.
Conclusion
Overall, operational stability has been restored as we head
towards the end of the financial year. SSO's current production
levels support a normalised run-rate of 7,8 million tons per annum.
We have revised our ORYX average utilisation rate for the year down
to 83%. Performance Chemicals sales volumes have been revised to 1
- 2% lower than the prior year (excluding LCCP). We have optimised
our sales plans with the aim of recovering the volumes lost as a
result of the shutdowns and external supply constraints.
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, developments and business strategies.
Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements regarding exchange rate fluctuations, volume
growth, increases in market share, total shareholder return,
executing our growth projects (including LCCP), oil and gas
reserves, cost reductions, our Continuous Improvement (CI)
initiative and business performance outlook. Words such as
"believe", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "seek", "will",
"plan", "could", "may", "endeavour", "target", "forecast" and
"project" and similar expressions are intended to identify such
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 are discussed more fully in our most
recent annual report on Form 20-F filed on 28 August 2018 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 both these factors and other uncertainties and
events. 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.
For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations:
Feroza Syed
Chief Investor Relations Officer
Telephone: +27(0)10-344-7778
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SOURCE Sasol Limited