Johannesburg - Sasol, the world’s biggest coal-to-liquid fuel producer, said full-year profit rose 14 percent after synthetic-fuels output advanced and the rand weakened.
Earnings per share excluding one-time items climbed to 60.16 rand in the 12 months ended June, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement today.
The average of nine analysts’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey was for EPS of 60.99 rand.
Net income gained 13 percent to 29.6 billion rand.
The final dividend rose to 13.50 rand a share from 13.30 rand.
“Underpinned by a solid operational performance, ongoing business improvements, and strengthened stakeholders relations, Sasol has outperformed our previous best efforts,” chief executive David Constable said in the statement.
Selling prices achieved by Sasol, which last year made 75 percent of operating profit in South Africa, are linked to the dollar price of oil, which was an average 9.8 percent higher in the 12 months through June than a year earlier.
The rand was 15 percent weaker against the dollar in the period.
A 5.3 billion-rand impairment on Canadian shale-gas assets, announced on February 14, weighed on profit.
Synfuels production rose 2 percent to 7.6 million metric tons, compared with a forecast of 7.3 million to 7.5 million tons, the company said on August 11.
A 97 percent annual utilisation rate achieved at the Oryx gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar also boosted profit, Sasol said last month.
Sasol shares have rallied about 24 percent this year, valuing the company at 414.7 billion rand. - Bloomberg News