Sasol expects to report higher full-year earnings as the group benefits from the higher oil price, improved sales, better refining margins and lower impairments.The group said in a trading update on Wednesday that adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) for the year to end-June is expected to be between R58bn and R62bn, an increase of between 12% and 20% compared with a year ago.HEPS, which removes certain one-off items, is expected to rise by between 2% and 14% to R36-R40.EPS is expected to be between R17.50 and R19.50, representing an increase of between 65% and 84% from a year ago.“The increase in earnings for the year was driven by a combination of management actions and a more supportive macro-economic environment during the last quarter of the financial year,” Sasol said.Sasol benefited from a 4% increase in sales volumes associated with improved production, a 7% increase in the average Brent crude oil price and a more than 100% increase in refining margins following improved fuel differentials.In addition, there were lower impairments of R16.8bn in the current financial year compared with R20.7bn in the previous year.This was offset by the stronger rand-dollar exchange rate, the one-off Transnet settlement of R4.3bn received in the previous year and unrealised losses of R1.1bn on the translation of monetary assets and liabilities compared to unrealised gains of R2bn in the previous year, it said.Impairments in the 2026 financial year include the Secunda liquid fuels refinery cash-generating unit (CGU). The full amount of costs capitalised during the current year of R7.7bn has been impaired, with R3bn already accounted for in the interim financial statements. In addition, there were impairments of the polyethylene CGU of R3.7bn and the production sharing agreement development in Mozambique of R3.9bn, which was accounted for in the interim financial statements.“While earnings are expected to improve, higher year-end working capital driven by elevated pricing following the Middle East conflict and the previously reported fuels inventory build is expected to moderate the improvement in free cash flow generation,” Sasol said.The company, which is valued at R119.2bn on the JSE, has seen its share price rise by almost 75% year to date as oil prices surged in the wake of the US-Iran conflict.Sasol will release its annual results on September 1.Business Day