Understanding Shares

A share is a unit of ownership in a company and is represented by the number of shares a person or investor holds. The Sasol Khanyisa structure places importance on share ownership and is an essential component of economic transformation. As a shareholder in a company, you can earn an income from your shares in the form of dividends. You can expect to receive dividends, if declared, on a bi-annual basis. However, it’s important to remember that there is no guarantee that dividends will be declared.

Shares are bought and sold on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The JSE is the oldest existing and largest stock exchange in Africa. Both our Sasol Ordinary (SOL) Shares and Sasol BEE Ordinary (SOLBE1) shares are traded here and the latest JSE results can be found in most daily newspapers, weekly magazines as well as a number of internet sites.

Importantly, share prices move up and down daily and the price is determined by many internal and external factors. If the supply of a share exceeds the demand (there are lots of shares available) the price per share tends to decrease. If the supply of a share is lower than the demand (lots of people want to buy shares but there are not a lot of shares available) the price per share tends to increase. 

Share prices can also be affected by many internal and external factors, such as:

• Company news and performance
• Industry performance
• Investor sentiment
• Economic factors
• Short-term trends

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