Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was R24,3 billion, an increase of 12% compared to the prior period. This performance was underpinned by a strong macroeconomic environment with higher crude oil prices, refining margins and chemicals prices coupled with increased demand, negated by lower production volumes due to operational challenges at our Secunda Operations (SO).

Earnings were impacted mainly by the following non-cash adjustments:

• Reversal of impairments of R1,4 billion mainly due to a higher price outlook on the back of a sustained increase in demand for alcohols into the personal hygiene market during and post the COVID-19 pandemic;
• R4,9 billion gain on the realisation of the foreign currency translation reserve (FCTR), on the divestment of our Canadian shale gas assets;
• Losses of R0,1 billion on the translation of monetary assets and liabilities due to a 3% weakening of the closing rand/US dollar exchange rate compared to 30 June 2021; and
• Losses of R5,3 billion on the valuation of financial instruments and derivative contracts.

• Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adjusting EBIT for depreciation, amortisation, share-based payments, remeasurement items, change in discount rates of environmental provisions, all unrealised translation gains and losses, and all unrealised gains and losses on our derivatives and hedging activities. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure of the Group’s underlying cash flow performance. However, this is not a defined term under IFRS and may not be comparable with similarly titled measures reported by other companies. (Adjusted EBITDA constitutes pro forma financial information in terms of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements and should be read in conjunction with the basis of preparation and pro forma financial information notes as set out in the full set of reviewed interim financial results.)
• Core HEPS is calculated by adjusting headline earnings per share with non-recurring items, earnings losses of significant capital projects (exceeding R4 billion) which have reached beneficial operation and are still ramping up, all translation gains and losses (realised and unrealised), all gains and losses on our derivatives and hedging activities (realised and unrealised), and share-based payments on implementation of B-BBEE transactions. Adjustments in relation to the valuation of our derivatives at period end are to remove volatility from earnings as these instruments are valued using forward curves and other market factors at the reporting date and could vary from period to period. We believe core headline earnings are a useful measure of the Group´s sustainable operating performance. (Core HEPS constitutes pro forma financial information in terms of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements and should be read in conjunction with the basis of preparation and pro forma financial information notes as set out in the full set of reviewed interim financial results.)

Balance sheet management

Cash generated by operating activities increased by 73% to R20,3 billion compared to the prior period. Actual capital expenditure amounted to R10,4 billion compared to R7,5 billion during the prior period. The higher capital expenditure is due largely to the absence of a phased shutdown at SO in the prior period and increased sustenance capital expenditure in the current period.

Our net debt to EBITDA ratio at 31 December 2021, based on the revolving credit facility (RCF) and US dollar term loan covenant definition, was 1,3 times, significantly below the threshold level of 3 times. Sasol is committed to continue with its efforts to reduce leverage and absolute debt levels.

At 31 December 2021, our total debt was R109,2 billion compared to R102,9 billion at 30 June 2021. During this reporting period we repaid a portion of the RCF, however the weakened closing Rand/US Dollar exchange rate had a translation effect of R11,7 billion on our debt.

Gearing has reduced to 59,1% at 31 December 2021 from 61,5% at 30 June 2021. This is mainly due to stronger cash earnings generation, offset by the weaker closing exchange rate.

As at 31 December 2021, our liquidity headroom was R91 billion (US$5,7 billion), well above our outlook to maintain liquidity in excess of US$1 billion. We will repay the outstanding debt on the Commercial Paper (R2,2 billion) and a US$1 billion bond (R16 billion) in August 2022 and November 2022 respectively.

In line with our financial risk management framework, we continue to make good progress with hedging our foreign currency, crude oil and ethane exposure. We have been successful in hedging our total exposure for 2022 and we are making good progress with hedging our 2023 exposure, which increases the certainty of future cash flows and mitigates downside risk to enable our Future Sasol strategy. For further details of our open hedge positions we refer you to our Analyst Book (www.sasol.com).

Dividend

The restoration of dividends is a key priority, however, in the context of the high level of macroeconomic uncertainty the Board believes it is prudent not to declare an interim dividend at this stage. This is in line with the capital allocation framework and dividend triggers which were communicated at our Capital Markets Day in September 2021.

Director changes

Mr Z M Mkhize and Mr P J Robertson retired as non-executive directors of Sasol Limited at the end of the annual general meeting held on 19 November 2021.

Management changes: Appointment of Executive Vice Presidents for Mining and Energy Operations

The board also approved the appointment of Mr Riaan Rademan as Executive Vice President (EVP) for Mining and as a member of the Group Executive Committee, effective 9 March 2022. Riaan’s mandate is to lead mining through its current challenges and position the business over the coming months for enhanced and sustainable productivity, prioritising safety in our operations.

Riaan re-joins Sasol from Foskor (Pty) Ltd where he has been the President and Chief Executive Officer since 1 July 2019 and led a successful business turnaround programme. He previously had a 36-year career with Sasol up to 30 September 2017.  During his tenure with the company he held executive accountability for several key businesses and functions, including mining and exploration and production, shared services, information management, procurement, and supply chain.

In addition, our EVP Energy Operations, Mr Bernard Klingenberg nears retirement later this year and a suitable internal successor was identified. Mr Simon Baloyi will be appointed as the EVP Energy Operations, effective 1 April 2022. He holds masters degrees in chemical engineering and engineering management, and has more than 20 years’ experience across the Sasol South African value chains.

Mr Grobler, Sasol’s President and CEO said: “I am confident that these executive changes will strengthen the business and support our drive to further embed safety and operational discipline across the portfolio. I would also like to thank Mr Bernard Klingenberg for his contribution and leadership during his 36 year tenure at Sasol and we will pay tribute to him nearer to his retirement.”

Maintaining our focus on safety and sustainable value creation

Safety and health

• Regrettably five fatalities were recorded for the first six months of the financial year. These serve as a stark reminder of the importance of effectively embedding and managing our safety, health and environment strategic programmes. Three of the fatalities recorded were due to an incident at our Mining operations (Bosjesspruit colliery), the fourth was as a result of a major process safety incident at our Secunda operations and the fifth was due to a fall from a height whilst working at our Sasolburg operations.
• The High Severity Incident (HSI) programme remains a key initiative in preventing fatalities, high severity injuries and process safety incidents with the focus on the programme continuing throughout this reporting period. A heightened emphasis on humanising safety is noted across the Group, from leading safety through compliance only, to leading safety with care and compliance. Our 12-month rolling recordable case rate (RCR) is 0,28.
• SHE Risk Management, with its focus on first and second levels of assurance on critical controls remains the backbone of our HSI prevention programme. Continued focus on operational discipline, training and competence remains imperative.
• We have a well-established COVID-19 response programme where the health and wellbeing of our workforce (employees and all others engaged in work at Sasol) is a priority, including emphasis on maintaining business continuity. To 14 February 2022, 8 260 COVID cases have been reported with 8 056 recoveries, i.e. an overall recovery rate of 97,5%. In total, 108 cases are still active with 1 colleague in hospital and 107 in isolation. We are very saddened to report that we have lost 94 of our colleagues due to COVID-19.

Environmental

At our Capital Markets Day in September 2021 we announced our plans to deliver on Future Sasol. These included that we would not invest in any new coal reserves in the future, using gas as a transition feedstock, which has an inherent but significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint than coal, integrating renewables into our operations to reduce our electricity emissions, building new sustainable businesses leveraging our advantaged Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology through our new Sasol ecoFT business, developing tailored solutions for our Chemicals customers by helping them address sustainability challenges and providing specialty solutions and playing a leading role in the development of the green hydrogen economy in Southern Africa.

We are pleased to report the following progress against some of our targets:

• Large scale renewables: We are jointly executing 600MW renewables together with Air Liquide, for SO and have completed our request for proposal (RFP) process. Negotiations on the power purchase agreements are in progress, which we expect to be finalised in 2022. We are also making good progress on the smaller scale 10MW renewables plants in Sasolburg and Secunda, and are also evaluating the potential to add approximately 60MW additional renewable capacity in Sasolburg in support of our shorter term plan to produce green hydrogen. In Brunsbüttel, Germany, Sasol Chemicals has been obtaining 100% of its external electricity supply from renewable resources since 1 January 2022;
• Gas Transition: We have recently approved development funds for the first tranche of the additional gas reforming capacity in Secunda to achieve our 2030 GHG reduction target. Furthermore, our Production Sharing Agreement project in Mozambique is performing to plan, with the gas off-taker, Central Termica de Temane, achieving financial close in December 2021. A significant lever for decarbonisation is the switchover to more natural gas feedstock towards 2030, and to reduce our dependency on coal. To this end, we are making good progress in the purchasing of approximately 40 to 60 petajoules of liquefied natural gas and expect financial close by 30 June 2022;
• Green hydrogen: In 2023, Sasol plans to produce the first commercial scale green hydrogen in Sasolburg, using electrolysers which have been repurposed. Sasol is also leading the pre-feasibility study for the Boegoebaai green hydrogen development project on the west coast of South Africa, which is a strategic project initiated by the South African government in support of the country’s transition towards a lower carbon future; and
• FT sustainable solutions: Our newly launched Sasol ecoFT business has made good progress in exploring sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and Power-to-X (PtX) opportunities. Over 10 new opportunities for SAF production are currently being evaluated and two projects have advanced with partnership frameworks established.

Social

• During the six months ended 31 December 2021, we invested R296,6 million globally in socioeconomic development, which contributed towards funding small to large enterprises, bursaries, education and learnership programmes, health and investment in community service infrastructure. We also invested R746,2 million in skills development in our Energy business and R17,5 million in our Chemicals business.
• Despite the current economic challenges in South Africa, Sasol delivered on its commitments towards sustainable transformation and broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE). Sasol Limited and Sasol South Africa Limited both achieved a Level 3 contributor status during this reporting period. This is an improvement from the Level 4 contributor status achieved in 2021. Our expenditure with black-owned suppliers increased to R13,9 billion compared to R11,3 billion for the prior period.

The full suite of interim results reports are available here: https://www.sasol.com/investor-centre/financial-reporting/financial-reports-2022.