After experiencing numerous difficult years, including two years eight months in still ongoing business rescue, operations of the renowned Tongaat Hulett Sugar business in KwaZulu-Natal are reportedly showing significant positive turnaround.
By Lloyd Phillips, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
The present-day sugarcane miller, sugar refiner, animal feed manufacturer and property developer, Tongaat Hulett Limited, has a 162-year heritage. Yet, alleged criminal management practices in combination with other unfavourable external and internal factors saw this giant brought to its knees in only ten comparatively short years.
When Tongaat Hulett entered business rescue on 27 October 2022, it had total debt of approximately R10 billion, assets worth approximately R2 billion, and a 5:1 debt-to-asset ratio. The livelihoods of many thousands of growers in the company’s Felixton, Amatikulu and Maidstone Mills’ sugarcane supply areas, and of the mills’ and sugar refinery’s employees, were in jeopardy.
Although the still ongoing business rescue has been and still is plagued by controversy and by numerous legal and other challenges, Tongaat Hulett, its business rescue practitioners and its creditors-approved buyer, the Vision Consortium, report positive progress with a R1,45 billion rehabilitation programme for the three sugar mills and refinery.
A recent statement says: “The latest mid-season technical review of operations reflects the impact of that investment. Operational recovery first observed last year – after years of declining performance – has not only been sustained, but is gaining momentum, with demonstrable gains now evident across all key performance indicators.”
According to the statement, these include:
Lost time percentage (mid-season 2025 vs mid-season 2021)
Maidstone Mill – 12,4% vs 33,5%
Felixton Mill – 12,9% vs 27,1%
Amatikulu Mill – “While Amatikulu had a slower start to the 2025-’26 season, its performance has improved steadily, showing strong recovery after the first three weeks of operating.”
The statement adds that production efficiencies with sucrose extraction and with boiling house recoveries have improved across all three mills. More sucrose is being extracted from sugarcane during the front-end milling process, and a greater proportion of crystallized sugar is being recovered during the back-end process.
Sucrose Extraction (SE) and Boiling House Recoveries (BHR)
Maidstone Mill – SE consistently above 95%. BHR now close to 90% from below 85% in 2021.
Felixton Mill – SE consistently above 95%. BHR now close to 90% from approximately 82% in 2021.
Amatikulu Mill – SE highest level in five years. BHR up almost 5% since 2023.
Tongaat Hulett reports its mills’ average Value Recovery percentages are either meeting or exceeding the 100% benchmark. This means they are effectively recovering the same or more sugar from crushed sugarcane than the standard industry value.
The company’s central sugar refinery is reportedly losing less sucrose during the melting and purification process, and the facility’s uptime “has significantly improved”.
Gavin Dalgleish, Tongaat Hulett’s chief executive officer since 01 June, says his company’s teams are focused on driving the efficiencies that ultimately deliver more value to sugarcane growers, to customers, and to the whole South African sugarcane value-chain.
What the growers say
Dave Bell, a sugarcane supplier to Felixton Mill is quoted as saying: “[Tongaat Hulett has] done a good job fixing the problem areas, and it’s reassuring to know the mills are now performing at a level that allows them to maximise their yield. I think the farmers are all happy with the outcome.”
Ryan de Matteis, a sugarcane grower chairing the Amatikulu Mill Group Board, says: “The mill has picked itself up and really taken off. [After a delayed start, it’s now] running ahead of schedule, which wasn’t expected.”
The statement says the completion of the business rescue plan for Tongaat Hulett remains on track. Preparations are underway for finalizing the company’s asset sale transaction with Vision Sugar. This “will mark a new chapter in Tongaat Hulett’s long legacy as a key player in Southern Africa’s sugar industry”.
