JOHANNESBURG, March 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The unprecedented
set of combined challenges driven by COVID-19 and the significant
decline in the oil price have come at a time when Sasol is in a
peak gearing phase as the Company completes LCCP.
Sasol is confident that its foundation business is capable of
positive cash flow from operations in a low oil price environment.
At the prevailing Rand oil price of approximately R580/bbl, Sasol
will be within the current covenant levels at 30 June 2020. In anticipation of a
lower-for-longer Rand per barrel oil price, a comprehensive package
of actions is being finalised to deliver this and sustainably
strengthen the balance sheet. It is important to note the current
liquidity position:
- Sasol has current cash and available facilities of
approximately US$2,5bn; and
- Sasol has no significant debt maturities before May 2021.
Sasol is prioritising the following actions, details of which
will be announced to the market on Tuesday:
- Business optimisation to reduce costs;
- Working capital optimisation;
- Re-scheduling some capital expenditure;
- Expanding the scope of, and accelerating, the asset disposal
programme to realise proceeds in excess of the current US$2 billion target;
- Engaging our lending groups. Thus far, engagements have
been constructive; and
- Assessing alternatives to manage Sasol's near-term debt
covenant constraints, including a potential equity issue.
Sasol will update the market on the conference call at 15:00 SA
on Tuesday, 17 March, with detail on the comprehensive package of
actions.
Shareholders are accordingly advised to exercise caution when
dealing in the Company's securities until a further announcement is
made.
Fleetwood Grobler commented "The
disruption in the global oil market, coupled with the ongoing
impact of COVID-19 has significantly changed the outlook in just a
few weeks. It is critical that we keep matters within our control
by acting quickly and decisively so that stakeholders don't lose
sight of the significant underlying value in this business. We are
therefore working towards a package of measures to ensure that the
business is profitable even at low oil prices and that we continue
to have a strong balance sheet to support it."
Conference call
details:
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|
|
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Tuesday, 17
March 2020
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Time
|
Dial-in
numbers
|
Replay
numbers
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South
Africa
|
15:00
|
+27 11 535
3600
|
+27 10 500
4108
|
United
Kingdom
|
13:00
|
+44 (0) 333 300
1418
|
+44 (0) 203 608
8021
|
United
States (ET)
|
09:00
|
+1 508 924
4326
|
+1 412 317
0088
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Other
countries
|
|
+27 11 535
3600
|
+27 10 500
4108
|
Passcode:
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|
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31413
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The transcript
will be available from March 20, 2020 at 6:00 PM (SA) on Sasol's
investor relations website.
For online
participation, please register on the following
link:
https://www.corpcam.com/Sasol17032020
|
The Company may file a registration statement or a
post-effective amendment to its registration statement (including a
prospectus) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC") for any offering of securities referred to in this
communication. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in
that registration statement and other documents the Company has
filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company
and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting
EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the
Company will arrange to send you the prospectus after filing if you
request it by calling the Investor Relations Department at +27 10
344 9280.
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, expectations, developments and business
strategies. Examples of such forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, statements regarding exchange rate
fluctuations, expectations regarding future cash flow, Sasol's
ability to meet its debt covenants, the actions referred to herein
intended to strengthen Sasol's balance sheet and to maintain
profitability at lower oil prices 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 and others are discussed more fully in
our most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed on 28 October 2019 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.
If you have any questions, please email:
investor.relations@sasol.com or contact Feroza Syed at +27 10 344 9280.
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SOURCE Sasol Limited