THE annual results that Sasol’s new joint CEOs, Bongani Nqwababa and Stephen Cornell, present on Monday cover the final year of the tenure of their predecessor, David Constable, who stepped down at the end of June after just five years at the group.They were five years in which he performed radical surgery on Sasol, restructuring its operations and making deep cuts in its cost base at the same time as he streamlined its growth strategy to focus on the ambitious Lake Charles project in Louisiana, US.Constable left the aftercare, in effect, to his successors. And while Nqwababa and Cornell have the benefit of the savings and repositioning he effected, they have been left with big challenges and question marks.The annual results will talk to some of those challenges, not least of which is the Lake Charles project, whose cost has escalated from the original $8.9bn in 2014 to $11bn — a figure that the new team confirmed in August following a review launched in June, when Constable first ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.