Trade and Industry Editor
THE board of petrochemicals and synthetic fuels group Sasol has called on finance director Trevor Munday to sort out its troubled offshore chemicals business.
The chemicals operations along with the strong rand are largely responsible for Friday's warning by Sasol of a 22% drop in attributable earnings in the year to June. An analyst said yesterday he was worried about the extra burden Munday was shouldering, and suggested it was a reflection of Sasol's alarm about the performance of its chemicals portfolio.
Munday's appointment was triggered by the resignation of Sasol's previous Mr Chemicals, Ralph Havenstein, who is leaving to head Anglo Platinum.
In another development, executive director Pat Davies, who has been responsible for the global expansion of Sasol's gas-to-liquid fuel technology, is being given extra responsibility, taking charge of both Sasol's synthetic fuels operations at Secunda and the technology portfolio. The synthetic fuels and technology responsibilities were being held by Jan Fourie, who is retiring this year.
"Sasol's overseas chemicals businesses, which they acquired with the takeover of the German Condea group, are causing a huge headache," said an analyst.
"International fund managers were cross when Sasol bought Condea and it seems they may have been proved right. Munday is an important and senior board member, and for him to also have been given the chemicals portfolio is a sign that this is serious."
Sasol CE Pieter Cox said that the new appointments "provide us with the opportunity firstly to consolidate the oil and gas portfolios, and to optimise the synergies and cross-business linkages between them".
"Pat Davies is ideally positioned to do this. Our overseas chemical interests presently require close focus, and Trevor Munday's experience will play an important role in this respect."
Before he joined Sasol, Munday headed listed chemicals group Polifin, a joint venture between Sasol and AECI before Sasol acquired it and delisted it.
Munday said yesterday that Sasol had seen an increase in the percentage of its shares held in the US and a doubling of trading volumes in the two months since its listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
When Sasol upgraded its listing from Nasdaq in April, it said it wanted more US investors and greater trade in its shares.
Munday said that there was progress on both counts, with share trade having doubled.
Since the listing on April 9 the foreign shareholding had risen from 25% to 27,5%, primarily in the US where the shareholder base rose from 15% to 17,5%.
Munday said that Sasol had been keen to expand the shareholding of the retail market in the US. He confirmed that Sasol had bolstered its investor relations activities in the US to reflect its new listing. Sasol closed R1,39 higher at R87,40 yesterday.
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Jun 10 2003 07:35:58:000AM John Fraser Business Day 1st Edition
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10 June 2003
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