(JSE: SOL, NYSE: SSL): Sasol to Ring New York Stock Exchange Closing Bell
09 April 2008 - 4:53PM
PR Newswire (US)
Company Celebrating Five Year Anniversary of Listing on the NYSE
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, April 9, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Sasol, the leading producer of clean synthetic fuels and chemicals
from natural gas and coal, will ring The Closing Bell(R) of the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today at 4:00pm EDT to celebrate the
five year anniversary of its listing on the world's leading and
most liquid exchange. In coordination with the celebration,
management from Sasol yesterday hosted an investor day in New York
to present the company's strategic, operational and financial
progress, as well as the steps it is taking to further strengthen
its business and develop additional opportunities. Sasol hosted a
similar investor day in Johannesburg, South Africa last month.
North American investors have steadily recognized the
attractiveness of Sasol as an investment during its five years of
being listed on the NYSE and are an important source of support for
the Company. Average daily volumes on the NYSE have grown from
34,000 ADRs per day at the time of the listing to 730,000 ADRs per
day now. The Company's North American shareholder base was 17%
before the listing and now represents 26% of the total shares
outstanding. The share price has also appreciated from $10.90 the
day of the listing to $52.84 at market close on April 8, 2008.
Sasol is advancing its strategy and delivered on a number of its
key operational objectives since listing on the NYSE in April 2003.
Specifically, the Company is expanding its CTL and GTL business,
growing its chemicals business based on its technology or feedstock
advantages, and developing upstream opportunities. Underpinning
these efforts, Sasol is poised to respond to the needs of the
global energy market. Demand for transportation fuels continues to
grow as global supply of oil tightens. Sasol's proven proprietary
technology increases the sources of transportation fuel by
unlocking the world's vast untapped reserves of coal and natural
gas and converting it into clean diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.
Host nations partnering with Sasol benefit from monetizing their
natural resources and increasing their energy independence. Sasol's
unique position as a leading international provider of synthetic
fuels and chemicals is reflected by robust financial results. The
total shareholder return, averaged over the last five years, has
been 39% per year, and the Company is on-track for record full year
earnings. Sasol also has a strong balance sheet and the funding
capacity to accelerate its capital program. Commenting on the 5
year NYSE listing anniversary, Pat Davies, Chief Executive of
Sasol, said, "We are delighted of the progress that Sasol has made
in reinforcing our strong foundation at home and in expanding our
business globally to create value for shareholders. Through our
values driven leadership, style and culture, we are making
significant strides to strengthen our business further and to
prepare to take advantage of opportunities to deliver sustainable
future growth. We would like to thank all of our stakeholders,
including employees, partners, host governments, customers and
investors, for their continuing support to our efforts." The Sasol
Investor Relations team Tel.: +27 11 441 3113/3563/3321 Disclaimer
-- Forward-looking statements In this report we make certain
statements that are not historical facts and relate to analyses and
other information based on forecasts of future results not yet
determinable, relating, amongst other things, to exchange rate
fluctuations, volume growth, increases in market share, total
shareholder return and cost reductions. These are forward-looking
statements as defined in the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe",
"anticipate", "intend", "seek", "will", "plan", "could", "may",
"endeavour" and "project" and similar expressions are intended to
identify such forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive
means of identifying such statements. Forward-looking statements
involve inherent risks and uncertainties and, if one or more of
these risks materialise, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may be very different from those
anticipated. The factors that could cause our actual results to
differ materially from such forward-looking statements are
discussed more fully in our most recent annual report under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on Form 20-F filed on 21 November
2007 and in other filings with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements apply only as of
the date on which they are made, and Sasol does not undertake any
obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise. Please note: A billion
is defined as one thousand million. DATASOURCE: Sasol CONTACT: The
Sasol Investor Relations team, +27-11-441-3113, 3563, 3321,
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