Sasol shines a bit brighter after progress with hedging programme

JOHANNESBURG – Sasol shined a little brighter yesterday after reporting that it was making progress with its hedging programme aimed at absorbing further oil price shocks.

The petrochemicals giant’s shares rose 17.24 percent on the JSE to R36.93, after it told investors that hedges were in place for about 80percent of its syn- fuels production for the fourth quarter, at about $32 (R573) a barrel.

“Crude oil hedging execution will continue for the next 12 months, while US dollar and rand and ethane hedging programmes have been executed for the next 12-month period,” the company said.

The group also said it had $2.5billion in liquidity to provide an additional buffer against short-term volatility.

The news came hours after Moody’s slashed Sasol’s corporate family ratings (CFR) from Ba1 to Ba2, saying it was of the view that the group’s credit metrics would deteriorate in the next 12 to 18 months, contrary to the rating agency’s previous expectation of a moderate deleveraging.