Sasol has declared a gross final cash dividend of R14.70 per share for the year ended in June as high crude and chemicals prices pushed earnings higher.
The dividend is the first to be declared since 2019, it is also the highest dividend per share paid by the synthetic fuels and chemicals group.
Sasol said its board is satisfied that the liquidity and solvency of the company, as well as capital adequacy remaining after payment of the dividend, are sufficient to support the current operations for the ensuing year.
Sasol on Tuesday delivered a strong set of financial results having benefitted from higher oil and chemicals prices, as well as cost and capital discipline.
Earnings before interest and tax of R61.4 billion increased significantly, up from R16.62 billion in the prior year. Headline earnings grew 21% to R29.73 billion.
This was offset by lower volume performance mainly due to the operational challenges experienced in the first half of the financial year. Sasol said performance has since improve as operations stabilised in the second half of the financial year.
"Financial year 2022 was characterised by a number of factors impacting our business, including geopolitical tensions, further Covid-19 lockdowns in China, weather-related events and global supply chain disruptions. These conditions dampened global demand and triggered fears of recession in both advanced and developing economies," Sasol CEO, Fleetwood Grobler said in a statement in the annual results report.
"Amidst this volatility, we demonstrated resilience, delivering a strong set of financial results for the year in a complex and difficult external environment."
He said Sasol "significantly strengthened" its balance sheet and achieved its dividend trigger targets set out at its Capital Markets Day in September 2021.
"I am therefore very pleased to announce the re-introduction of dividends for financial year 2022. We remain committed to deliver and increase, sustainable returns to our shareholders," Grobler said.