South African petrochemicals major Sasol posted a 13% rise in annual profit on Wednesday as better operations in the second half offset the impact of weaker crude prices.

The company said its headline earnings per share (HEPS), a profit measure, was 53.75 South African cents for the 12 months ended on June 30, up from 47.58 cents posted a year ago.

Its basic earnings per share, which includes one-off costs, was down by over three-fourths, however, on account of a huge impairment at its flagship plant. (Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Tom Hogue)