Energy and chemicals group Sasol reported a 72% slump in earnings to R4.5-billion in the six months to December 31, 2019, compared with the prior period. Headline earnings a share, meanwhile, decreased by 74% to R5.94 when compared with the prior period. The board also decided not to declare an interim dividend to “protect and strengthen our balance sheet”, as group gearing surged from 56.3% on June 30, 2019, to 64.5% at the end of the calendar year, within a whisker of the upper end of previous market guidance of between 55% to 65%.
