Integrated_Annual_Report_2026 - Flipbook - Page 48
INTRODUCTION
SASOL AT A
GLANCE
DRIVING SUSTAINABLE
VALUE CREATION
EXECUTING
STRATEGY
DELIVERING
BUSINESS VALUE
SUMMARISED FINANCIAL
PERFORMANCE
CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
SUSTAINABILITY
REPORT
REMUNERATION
REPORT
ASSURANCE/
ADMINISTRATION
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S STATEMENT CONTINUED
Our Zero Harm ambition remains unchanged and this must
be visible in the behaviour of all our people – from frontline
leadership, in planning and supervision, to the way we manage
service provider safety.
This is also why culture matters. A strong safety culture is not
built by procedures alone. It is built when people speak up and
are heard, when leaders are present and accountable, and
when we learn honestly from incidents. We are reinforcing
accountable leadership, visible and felt leadership, process safety
management and service provider safety. These are not separate
priorities, but rather fundamental to how we run the business.
Strengthening our foundation
Operationally, FY26 showed what Sasol can deliver when we
focus on the fundamentals that are within our control.
In our Southern Africa business, we benefited from more stable
operations and improved performance across important parts of
the value chain. At Mining the destoning plant reached beneficial
operation and started yielding benefits. The impact of this plant
on coal quality supports greater value chain stability and gives us
a stronger platform from which to improve production reliability
over time. Better coal quality in combination with improved
gasifier performance and stronger operational discipline resulted
in Secunda’s production improving significantly, the site reached
its highest annual production in the past five years.
We also saw improved fuels sales volumes supported by better
supply stability and market demand. As a critical contributor to
the country’s energy system and industrial base, this matters.
Our role in supplying transportation fuels, aviation fuels, gas
and chemical products is a responsibility we take seriously,
particularly in periods of volatility and uncertainty. Sasol’s
contribution to energy security in South Africa following the
Middle East conflict deserves renewed consideration, as it
provides the country with the ability to produce liquid fuels
domestically, at scale, with reduced reliance on imported crude
oil. That capability remains highly relevant today and positions
Sasol as a strategic asset that underpins resilience as the energy
system evolves.
In International Chemicals, we continued to take difficult but
necessary decisions as we improved performance through a
combination of portfolio optimisation, enhanced commercial
execution and continued cost discipline. The reset of this
business is not about a short-term improvement in numbers. Our
priority is building a business which is more competitive, resilient
and focused through the cycle. The closure and mothballing of
selected assets are hard decisions because they affect people
and communities. But they are also part of disciplined portfolio
management. We are clear about where we allocate capital,
where we can earn acceptable returns, and where we need to
simplify the business to create long-term value.
Across the Group, stronger operational delivery was supported
by continued cost and capital discipline. This is the discipline
we must now sustain. We enter FY27 with momentum, but not
complacency — focused on building a safer, stronger and more
resilient Sasol that creates long-term value. FY27 planning is
grounded in more normalised conditions with continued effort to
strengthen our foundation business to absorb pressure in difficult
periods and capture upside when conditions improve.
Our strategy in growing and transforming the
business
Our strategy remains clear: Strengthen, Grow and Transform.
The first priority is to strengthen the foundation business. That
means safer operations, better reliability, improved feedstock
quality, disciplined cost management, value-accretive capital
allocation and a stronger balance sheet. These are not
glamorous words, but they are the work that creates resilience.
They are also the work that restores confidence.
The second priority is to Grow and Transform Sasol in a way
that is practical, commercially grounded and value-accretive.
We are not pursuing growth for the sake of growth. We are not
chasing ideas that do not have a credible pathway to value. We
are building future options where we have capability, customer
relevance, technical advantage and market opportunity.
As we pursue these opportunities, it is important to recognise
that FY28 is not the destination. The commitments we set out at
Capital Markets Day are important milestones, but our ambition
extends beyond achieving those targets. We are building a
stronger foundation that creates future choices, increases our
strategic flexibility and positions Sasol to create value well into
the next decade. In an increasingly uncertain world, resilience
comes not only from operational performance and financial
strength, but also from having the ability to adapt, invest and
grow where the greatest opportunities emerge.
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During the year, we advanced renewable energy and continued
to make progress against the renewable energy commitments
we set out at Capital Markets Day. This is important for our
emission reduction roadmap, but it is also important for our
competitiveness. Renewable energy must help reduce emissions
and support cost and supply resilience.
We also progressed sustainability certification according to the
International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC+)
scheme which is an important enabler for marketing sustainable
products thereby unlocking additional value pools in support
of Sasol’s growth strategy. They are proof points that we are
building the systems, assurance and customer credibility
required to participate in future lower-carbon value chains.
Our approach to reducing carbon intensity remains pragmatic.
Sasol operates assets that are important to energy security,
industrial activity and employment. At the same time, we must
reduce carbon intensity and respond to changing expectations
of our stakeholders. There are trade-offs, and we should be
honest about them. Long-term value will not be created through
commitments that are not executable. It will also not be created
by ignoring the direction of change. Our responsibility is to move
with discipline: invest where the value case is clear, partner
where it strengthens our capability, and ensure that reducing
carbon intensity supports competitiveness, industrialisation, jobs
preservation and meet customer needs.
Customers are central to this. A stronger Sasol must be a more
reliable Sasol. For customers, value is experienced through
dependable supply, consistent quality, responsiveness and
solutions that meet changing needs. In fuels, that means security
and reliability of supply. In chemicals, it means sharper market
focus, better service and products that remain relevant as
customers’ own requirements evolve. Customer experience is
not separate from operational excellence; it is one of the clearest
tests of whether our operations are performing.
The same applies to our employees and stakeholders.
Our strategy will only succeed if our people understand it,
believe they can contribute to it and see leadership acting
consistently. We have continued to invest in capability,
engagement and leadership development because performance
begins with people. A high-performing culture is built through
clarity, empowerment, accountability and care.
