Sasol’s flagship Secunda operation has posted its highest annual production in five years as green shoots from its investment in a coal-destoning facility improved coal quality at its key plant.The group, earlier this year, opened its new destoning plant, fulfilling a key commitment it made at its capital markets day in 2025, where it pledged to enhance the operational performance at Secunda by enabling the processing of higher-quality, destoned coal.The company on Tuesday said this investment had paid off, with stronger output from Secunda keeping the company within or above guidance across its production and sales metrics, with Sasol also expecting its financial performance to meet or exceed market guidance. According to Sasol, the performance was driven largely by improvements at Secunda, where better coal quality, increased natural gas supply, and the successful implementation of the company’s destoning project lifted production and mining output.The company said stronger production and a more favourable macroeconomic backdrop in the final quarter helped support its 2026 financial performance. However, net working capital ended the year above expectations because of higher oil prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East and increased fuel inventories accumulated before a planned shutdown at the Natref refinery.“Looking ahead, the operating environment is expected to remain volatile, driven by geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and evolving market dynamics. We remain focused on maintaining operational continuity, supporting our customers and proactively responding to changing market conditions,” it said.The group’s chemicals division also delivered a stronger performance than expected, benefiting from firmer pricing and improving market conditions across key regions.Chemicals Africa increased revenue during the quarter as higher selling prices offset lower base chemicals volumes after planned maintenance shutdowns. International Chemicals (IC) benefited from stronger pricing in the Americas and higher revenue in Eurasia despite supply disruptions related to the conflict in the Middle East.“As a result, IC adjusted ebitda is expected to exceed our market guidance range of $375m to $450m.”The improved chemical performance added to gains from Sasol’s energy business, where higher refining margins supported earnings despite losses on crude oil hedging positions.Alongside its operational improvements, Sasol continued to advance several strategic projects during the year. The company said it submitted its maximum gas price application to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, restarted a previously mothballed paraffin production unit in Italy and brought a further 330MW of renewable energy capacity online.It also approved a €60m investment to expand speciality alumina production in Germany while completing its 2027 financial year oil-hedging programme and continuing with its rand-dollar hedging strategy to manage exposure to commodity prices and currency movements.Sasol will publish its full-year financial results on September 1.Business Day