JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On 16 August 2019, Sasol announced that the Board of
Directors of Sasol (the Board) had decided to delay the
announcement of the Company's financial results for the year ended
30 June 2019 (2019 financial results)
which were due to be released on 19 August
2019 and that the Board expected to release them on
19 September 2019. This delay was to allow for the completion
of the assessment of possible internal control weaknesses
identified during the independent review announced by the Board
previously.
The Board has resolved to commission additional work under the
independent review and to stipulate for in-depth investigation into
certain aspects contemplated under the original scope. This will
allow a complete and thorough investigation, enabling the effective
conclusion of the audit of the Company's 2019 financial results.
This work includes an assessment as to whether any identified
control weakness and root cause of the changes in the cost and
schedule of the Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP) were present
in the previous financial year and/or in the technology function of
the Sasol group.
The Board is focused on resolving this as soon as possible and
all efforts are being made to get to a swift outcome without
compromising the integrity of the processes underway.
Additional resources have been deployed by the independent experts
to complete the review by mid-October
2019. The external audit work is being conducted in parallel
with the independent review and will be completed shortly
thereafter, with the objective of releasing the audited 2019
financial results by no later than Friday, 31 October 2019. A
further announcement will be made as soon as the Board has
determined the date on which the 2019 financial results will be
released.
The Board is mindful of the Company's financial reporting
obligations to regulators and shareholders under the applicable
South African and United States
regulatory requirements and will do all within its control to meet
its obligations in that regard.
At the date of this announcement, nothing has come to the
attention of the Board that necessitates a revision of the guidance
on the earnings ranges provided in the trading statement of
25 July 2019 and the cost guidance
for the LCCP of US$12,6 - 12,9 billion provided on
22 May 2019.
More details relating to this announcement can be found on our
website at
https://www.sasol.com/investor-centre/reporting/annual-financial-results-2019
Disclaimer – Forward-looking statements
Sasol may, in this document, make certain statements that are
not historical facts and relate to analyses and other information
which are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of
amounts not yet determinable. These statements may also relate to
our future prospects, developments and business strategies.
Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements regarding exchange rate fluctuations, volume
growth, increases in market share, total shareholder return,
executing our growth projects (including LCCP), oil and gas
reserves, cost reductions, our Continuous Improvement (CI)
initiative and business performance outlook. Words such as
"believe", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "seek", "will",
"plan", "could", "may", "endeavour", "target", "forecast" and
"project" and similar expressions are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of
identifying such statements. By their very nature, forward-looking
statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general
and specific, and there are risks that the predictions, forecasts,
projections and other forward-looking statements will not be
achieved. If one or more of these risks materialise, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may
differ materially from those anticipated. You should understand
that a number of important factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations,
estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking
statements. These factors are discussed more fully in our most
recent annual report on Form 20-F filed on 28 August 2018 and in other filings with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The list of
factors discussed therein is not exhaustive; when relying on
forward-looking statements to make investment decisions, you should
carefully consider both these factors and other uncertainties and
events. Forward-looking statements apply only as of the date on
which they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to
update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
For further information, please contact:
Feroza Syed, Chief Investor
Relations Officer
Direct telephone: +27 (0) 10 344 7778
investor.relations@sasol.com
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sol-sasol-limited-update-on-independent-board-review-and-release-of-2019-annual-financial-results-300913142.html
SOURCE Sasol Limited