Preliminary fiscal 2023 first-quarter financial results
Ashland’s financial results during the quarter reflect rapidly evolving dynamics in the global markets the company serves, namely:
- Strong global demand for pharmaceutical ingredients;
- Resilient margins driven by pricing and mix-improvement actions across segments;
- Weaker demand for specialty additives and personal care ingredients driven primarily by the impact of COVID-19 on the
China re-opening, the general economic slowdown inEurope and significant distributor destocking inChina andEurope ; - Lower operating margins within Specialty Additives driven by planned maintenance shutdowns plus COVID-19 dynamics which resulted in an extended unplanned shutdown at the company’s
Nanjing ,China , facility late in the quarter.
Sales in the quarter were approximately
In general, ingredient and additive demand at the company’s major customers remained resilient. Destocking by customers was customer-specific with no underlying patterns in any markets. Price and mix performance remained strong across all businesses.
Ashland expects income from continuing operations during the first fiscal quarter of approximately
Ashland’s Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately
December winter storm in the
During December, the winter storm that impacted much of
Fiscal year 2023 outlook
In
Based on current expectations and considering external uncertainties, Ashland continues to expect sales in the range of
“Ashland is executing its plans and priorities, focusing on high-quality resilient markets, strong price and mix management, disciplined operations, accelerating our innovation initiatives and investing in our future,” said
“This is a time for caution. Despite the challenging environment and the unplanned winter storm impact in the
The information in this release is preliminary, based upon information available at the time of this news release, and actual results may differ.
Conference Call Webcast
Ashland plans to issue its first-quarter earnings release at approximately
Among those participating in the webcast presentation will be:
Guillermo Novo , chair and chief executive officer;Kevin Willis , senior vice president and chief financial officer; andSeth Mrozek , director, investor relations.
To access the call by phone, please go to this registration link and you will be provided with dial in details. To avoid delays, we encourage participants to dial into the conference call fifteen minutes ahead of the scheduled start time.
The webcast and supporting materials will be accessible through the Investor Relations section of Ashland's website at http://investor.ashland.com. Following the live event, an archived version of the webcast and supporting materials will be available on the Ashland website for 12 months.
Use of Non-GAAP Measures
Ashland believes that by removing the impact of depreciation and amortization and excluding certain non-cash charges, amounts spent on interest and taxes and certain other charges that are highly variable from year to year, adjusted EBITDA provides Ashland’s investors with performance measures that reflect the impact to operations from trends in changes in sales, margin and operating expenses, providing a perspective not immediately apparent from net income. The adjustments Ashland makes to derive the non-GAAP measure of adjusted EBITDA exclude items which may cause short-term fluctuations in net income and which Ashland does not consider to be the fundamental attributes or primary drivers of its business. Adjusted EBITDA provides disclosure on the same basis as that used by Ashland’s management to evaluate financial performance on a consolidated and reportable segment basis and provide consistency in our financial reporting, facilitate internal and external comparisons of Ashland’s historical operating performance and its business units, and provide continuity to investors for comparability purposes.
Key items, which are set forth on Table 2 accompanying this release, are defined as financial effects from significant transactions that, either by their nature or amount, have caused short-term fluctuations in net income and/or operating income, which Ashland does not consider to most accurately reflect Ashland’s underlying business performance and trends. Further, Ashland believes that providing supplemental information that excludes the financial effects of these items in the financial results will enhance the investor’s ability to compare financial performance between reporting periods.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share is a performance measure used by Ashland and is defined by Ashland as earnings (loss) from continuing operations, adjusted for identified key items and divided by the number of outstanding diluted shares of common stock. Ashland believes this measure provides investors additional insights into operational performance by providing earnings and diluted earnings per share metrics that exclude the effect of the identified key items and tax specific key items.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share, excluding intangibles amortization expense metric enables Ashland to demonstrate the impact of non-cash intangibles amortization expense on earnings per share, in addition to key items previously mentioned. Ashland’s management believes this presentation is helpful to illustrate how previous acquisitions impact applicable period results.
About Ashland
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Ashland has identified some of these forward-looking statements with words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “is likely,” “predicts,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “objectives,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “plans” and “intends” and the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. Ashland may from time to time make forward-looking statements in its annual reports, quarterly reports and other filings with the
Ashland’s expectations and assumptions include, without limitation, internal forecasts and analyses of current and future market conditions and trends, management plans and strategies, operating efficiencies and economic conditions (such as prices, supply and demand, cost of raw materials, and the ability to recover raw-material cost increases through price increases), and risks and uncertainties associated with the following: the impact of acquisitions and/or divestitures Ashland has made or may make (including the possibility that Ashland may not realize the anticipated benefits from such transactions); Ashland’s substantial indebtedness (including the possibility that such indebtedness and related restrictive covenants may adversely affect Ashland’s future cash flows, results of operations, financial condition and its ability to repay debt); severe weather, natural disasters, public health crises (including the current COVID-19 pandemic), cyber events and legal proceedings and claims (including product recalls, environmental and asbestos matters); the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing
1 Financial results are preliminary until Ashland’s Form 10-Q is filed with the
™ Trademark, Ashland or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Investor Relations: | Media Relations: |
+1 (302) 594-5010 | +1 (302) 995-3158 |
samrozek@ashland.com | ccbrown@ashland.com |
Attachment
- Q1 2023 Earnings Update wFinancial Tables - vFINAL
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