Fleetwood Grobler-led Sasol posts $715.41 million in profit as chemicals and crude oil prices surge

South Africa-based Sasol Limited has posted R10.53 billion ($715.41 million) in profit at the end of the 2021 financial year, as the prices of Brent crude oil and chemicals surge.

The result displays the group’s resilience and ability to bounce back from the losses that it suffered during its previous financial year.

The company’s R10.5 billion ($715 million) in profits in the 2021 financial year follow a loss of R91.92 billion ($6.25 billion) posted a year ago as a result of disruptions spurred by COVID-19 and its impact on the group’s operating environment and earnings.

Sasol is an integrated energy and chemicals group based in Sandton, an affluent municipality in South Africa’s Gauteng Province.

It is a leading producer of liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity, and a renowned developer of technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies.

It has operations in 33 countries and employs 30,100 people worldwide.

Fleetwood Grobbler leads the group. He is Sasol’s president and CEO, with an ownership stake of 20,402 shares in the company worth $297,461 (R4.38 million).

Information contained in its 2021 annual results revealed that Grobler received a total remuneration of R32.18 million ($2.19 million) during its 2020-2021 financial year.

In a note from his office in Sandton, South Africa, Sasol CFO Paul Victor said the 100-percent surge in profit was supported by the combined impact of higher Brent crude oil and chemicals prices in the second half of its financial year.

He noted that oil prices increased from $43 (R632) per barrel in July 2020 to $73 (R1,074) per barrel by June 2021.

The higher oil prices and a combination of a rise in demand coupled with supply disruptions led to an increase in chemical prices during the period.

These solid fundamentals and a combination of lower depreciation costs and gains from hedging spurred the R10.53-billion ($715.41 million) profit that it posted at the end of its 2021 financial year.

Sasol reported earnings before interest and tax of R16.6 billion ($1.13 billion), more than 100-percent higher than its figures last year.

The group noted that its performance, which was impressive despite the continued impact of COVID-19 and adverse weather events, was underpinned by substantial costs, working capital and capital expenditures.