Sasol’s share price slumped more than 9% on Thursday morning after it said it had declared force majeure on the local supply and export of certain chemical products, due to the strike at Transnet that ended earlier this week.
The chemicals and fuels group said in an operational update that its production rates at selected plants in Secunda and Sasolburg had been impacted by the strike.
The share traded at R286.11 on Thursday morning on the JSE, 34.7% below a 52-week high.
The group said its Natref refinery, however, continued to operate as no disruption was caused to Transnet’s pipeline.
Sasol said port and rail activities had recommenced after the strike, with the discharge of containers from ships in the harbour prioritised, following the conclusion of negotiations between Transnet and its majority trade union on Monday.
“We are unable to quantify the impact on our South African value chains, as the extent and timing to clear the backlogs across the port and rail system remain uncertain,” it said.
Sasol said also that a fire had occurred at the new Ziegler alcohol unit at the Lake Charles Chemicals Complex in the US, on Saturday.
“Our on-site emergency response team responded swiftly, and the fire was contained with no injuries reported. The investigation is under way to determine the cause, extent of damage, scope and timeline of repair. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates, as appropriate.”
President and CEO Fleetwood Grobler said: “The business continues to benefit from a favourable macro-economic environment compared to the prior year, with higher crude oil and chemical prices, a weaker rand-dollar exchange rate and stronger diesel differentials.
“We have, however, started experiencing the impacts of weaker economic growth globally, together with a downturn in chemicals pricing and higher feedstock costs.”
BUSINESS REPORT