Sasol share drops after Lake Charles cost rises again
The synthetic-fuel producer's share price fell 6% after saying its US project would be $700m more expensive than previously estimated
Sasol fell 5.7% to R388.01 on Friday morning after saying its Lake Charles project in Louisiana had once again overrun its budget, and would now cost up to $700m more than previously estimated. “Unfortunately, during the last quarter of 2018, several factors within and beyond our control impacted the completion schedule and associated cost for the remaining units, resulting in the overall project capital cost estimate being revised from $11.13bn to a range of $11.6bn to $11.8bn,” the chemicals group warned on Friday morning. The difference between the upper and lower ends of the range represents a contingency and weather provision of $200m. Sasol's announcement about its US project once again overrunning its budget was placed at the end of an updated trading statement in which it raised its earnings guidance for the first half of its 2019 financial year. Investors appear to have expected better than the approximately 32% growth in headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six month...
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