Ashland reports third quarter fiscal 2025 results and narrows full-year outlook range
Ashland (NYSE: ASH) reported Q3 fiscal 2025 results with sales of $463 million, down 15% year-over-year. The company recorded a significant net loss of $742 million, primarily due to a $706 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge.
Key financial metrics include Adjusted EBITDA of $113 million (down 19%) and Adjusted Income from Continuing Operations of $48 million ($1.04 per diluted share). Portfolio Optimization initiatives reduced sales by approximately $53 million or 10%. The company generated $114 million in operating cash flow and $108 million in Ongoing Free Cash Flow.
Ashland narrowed its FY2025 outlook, projecting sales of $1.825-1.850 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of $400-410 million, with expectations weighted toward the lower end of the range due to ongoing market uncertainty.
Ashland (NYSE: ASH) ha comunicato i risultati del terzo trimestre fiscale 2025, con vendite pari a 463 milioni di dollari, in calo del 15% rispetto all'anno precedente. L'azienda ha registrato una perdita netta significativa di 742 milioni di dollari, principalmente a causa di una rettifica non monetaria per svalutazione dell'avviamento di 706 milioni di dollari.
I principali indicatori finanziari includono un EBITDA rettificato di 113 milioni di dollari (in calo del 19%) e un utile rettificato dalle operazioni continuative di 48 milioni di dollari (1,04 dollari per azione diluita). Le iniziative di ottimizzazione del portafoglio hanno ridotto le vendite di circa 53 milioni di dollari, pari al 10%. L'azienda ha generato 114 milioni di dollari di flusso di cassa operativo e 108 milioni di dollari di flusso di cassa libero continuo.
Ashland ha rivisto le previsioni per l'intero anno fiscale 2025, prevedendo vendite tra 1,825 e 1,850 miliardi di dollari e un EBITDA rettificato compreso tra 400 e 410 milioni di dollari, con aspettative orientate verso il limite inferiore dell'intervallo a causa dell'incertezza persistente del mercato.
Ashland (NYSE: ASH) reportó resultados del tercer trimestre fiscal 2025 con ventas de
Las métricas financieras clave incluyen un EBITDA ajustado de $113 millones (una caída del 19%) y un Ingreso Ajustado de Operaciones Continuas de $48 millones ($1.04 por acción diluida). Las iniciativas de optimización de cartera redujeron las ventas aproximadamente en $53 millones, o un 10%. La empresa generó $114 millones en flujo de caja operativo y $108 millones en flujo de caja libre continuo.
Ashland ajustó su perspectiva para el año fiscal 2025, proyectando ventas entre $1.825-1.850 mil millones y un EBITDA ajustado de $400-410 millones, con expectativas inclinadas hacia el extremo inferior del rango debido a la incertidumbre continua del mercado.
Ashland (NYSE: ASH)은 2025 회계연도 3분기 실적을 발표했으며, 매출은 4억 6,300만 달러로 전년 대비 15% 감소했습니다. 회사는 주로 7억 600만 달러의 비현금성 영업권 손상차손으로 인해 7억 4,200만 달러의 큰 순손실을 기록했습니다.
주요 재무 지표로는 조정 EBITDA 1억 1,300만 달러(19% 감소)와 계속 영업 이익 조정 후 4,800만 달러(희석 주당 1.04달러)가 있습니다. 포트폴리오 최적화 이니셔티브로 매출이 약 5,300만 달러 또는 10% 감소했습니다. 회사는 1억 1,400만 달러의 영업 현금 흐름과 1억 800만 달러의 지속적인 자유 현금 흐름을 창출했습니다.
Ashland은 2025 회계연도 전망을 좁혀 매출을 18억 2,500만~18억 5,000만 달러, 조정 EBITDA를 4억~4억 1,000만 달러로 예상하며, 시장의 지속적인 불확실성으로 인해 하단 범위에 무게를 두고 있습니다.
Ashland (NYSE : ASH) a publié ses résultats du troisième trimestre fiscal 2025, avec un chiffre d'affaires de 463 millions de dollars, en baisse de 15 % sur un an. La société a enregistré une perte nette importante de 742 millions de dollars, principalement en raison d'une charge de dépréciation non monétaire de l'écart d'acquisition de 706 millions de dollars.
Les indicateurs financiers clés comprennent un EBITDA ajusté de 113 millions de dollars (en baisse de 19 %) et un résultat ajusté des activités poursuivies de 48 millions de dollars (1,04 dollar par action diluée). Les initiatives d'optimisation du portefeuille ont réduit les ventes d'environ 53 millions de dollars, soit 10 %. La société a généré un flux de trésorerie opérationnel de 114 millions de dollars et un flux de trésorerie disponible continu de 108 millions de dollars.
Ashland a resserré ses prévisions pour l'exercice 2025, prévoyant un chiffre d'affaires compris entre 1,825 et 1,850 milliard de dollars et un EBITDA ajusté de 400 à 410 millions de dollars, avec des attentes orientées vers le bas de la fourchette en raison de l'incertitude persistante du marché.
Ashland (NYSE: ASH) meldete die Ergebnisse für das dritte Quartal des Geschäftsjahres 2025 mit einem Umsatz von 463 Millionen US-Dollar, was einem Rückgang von 15 % im Jahresvergleich entspricht. Das Unternehmen verzeichnete einen erheblichen Nettoverlust von 742 Millionen US-Dollar, hauptsächlich aufgrund einer nicht zahlungswirksamen Wertminderung des Firmenwerts in Höhe von 706 Millionen US-Dollar.
Wichtige finanzielle Kennzahlen umfassen ein bereinigtes EBITDA von 113 Millionen US-Dollar (minus 19 %) und ein bereinigtes Ergebnis aus fortgeführten Geschäftsbereichen von 48 Millionen US-Dollar (1,04 US-Dollar pro verwässerter Aktie). Initiativen zur Portfoliooptimierung reduzierten den Umsatz um etwa 53 Millionen US-Dollar bzw. 10 %. Das Unternehmen generierte einen operativen Cashflow von 114 Millionen US-Dollar und einen fortlaufenden freien Cashflow von 108 Millionen US-Dollar.
Ashland hat seinen Ausblick für das Geschäftsjahr 2025 eingegrenzt und prognostiziert Umsätze von 1,825 bis 1,850 Milliarden US-Dollar sowie ein bereinigtes EBITDA von 400 bis 410 Millionen US-Dollar, wobei die Erwartungen aufgrund der anhaltenden Marktunsicherheit eher am unteren Ende der Spanne liegen.
- Strong cash flow generation with $114M from operations and $108M Ongoing Free Cash Flow
- Maintained robust margins with 24% Adjusted EBITDA margin despite headwinds
- Life Sciences segment achieved 33% Adjusted EBITDA margins for consecutive quarters
- Progress on $30M restructuring program expected to generate $7.5M in Q4 savings
- Double-digit growth in pharma tablet coatings and injectables business lines
- Significant $706M non-cash goodwill impairment charge leading to $742M net loss
- Sales declined 15% year-over-year to $463M
- Adjusted EBITDA decreased 19% to $113M compared to prior year
- Organic volumes decreased 4% due to lower demand in Specialty Additives and Personal Care
- Pricing declined 2% primarily in Life Sciences and Intermediates segments
Insights
Ashland reports mixed Q3 with $706M impairment charge and declining sales, yet maintains margins amid restructuring; outlook narrowed.
Ashland's Q3 fiscal 2025 results reveal significant challenges alongside disciplined execution. The company reported
The headline figure is a substantial
Segment performance reveals varied dynamics across Ashland's portfolio. Life Sciences (
Management's disciplined execution is evident in their
Looking ahead, Ashland narrowed its full-year guidance to sales of
- Sales of
$463 million , down 15 percent from the prior-year quarter - Previously announced carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), methylcellulose (MC), Nutraceuticals and Avoca portfolio optimization initiatives (collectively, Portfolio Optimization) reduced overall sales by approximately
$53 million or 10 percent versus the prior-year quarter. Excluding these initiatives, sales declined five percent - Loss from continuing operations of
$719 million , or$(15.70) per diluted share, primarily reflecting a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of$706 million - Adjusted Income from Continuing Operations Excluding Intangibles Amortization Expense of
$48 million , or$1.04 per diluted share - Net loss of
$742 million , or ($16.21) per diluted share - Adjusted EBITDA of
$113 million , down 19 percent from the prior-year quarter, with Portfolio Optimization contributing to a 9 percent or$13 million decline. Excluding the impact of Portfolio Optimization, Adjusted EBITDA declined 10 percent. - Cash flows provided by operating activities of
$114 million ; Ongoing Free Cash Flow2 of$108 million
WILMINGTON, Del., July 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) today announced financial results1 for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30, 2025, and narrows its full-year fiscal 2025 outlook range. Ashland, a global additives and specialty ingredients company, holds leadership positions in high-quality, consumer-focused markets including pharmaceuticals, personal care and architectural coatings.
“Ashland delivered resilient performance in a mixed demand environment, with stable demand trends across most markets, though volumes fell short of expectations as anticipated growth did not materialize,” said Guillermo Novo, chair and chief executive officer of Ashland. “These conditions underscore the importance of our sustained focus on cost savings and operational discipline, which continue to support strong margins. Despite the headwinds, we delivered Adjusted EBITDA generally in line with expectations, demonstrating the strength of our portfolio and effectiveness of our execution. The Ashland team maintained pricing discipline, taking targeted pricing actions and leveraging our differentiated solutions to strengthen market presence and gain share while improving the cost position of our core technologies."
Novo continued, “While demand was softer than expected, Life Sciences maintained pharma growth momentum in VP&D and cellulosics, positioning the segment for continued progress. The Life Sciences’ team advanced our “globalize” and “innovate” priorities while sustaining Adjusted EBITDA Margins of 33 percent for consecutive quarters. Personal Care operated in a stable but subdued demand environment, with microbial protection comparing against a particularly strong prior-year period. Performance was also impacted by customer-specific softness in biofunctional actives, which is expected to ease going forward. In light of these dynamics, Personal Care is starting to benefit from recent strategic investments, with early traction in targeted areas supporting growth and contributing to another quarter of strong margins. We are encouraged by sequential growth and building momentum across biofunctionals and microbial protection, paired with the stability of our care ingredients portfolio. Specialty Additives partially mitigated the impact of a soft architectural coatings season and last year’s share loss in China with growth in other markets, and our recently announced HEC network consolidation action is a critical self-help lever to deliver operational efficiency and margin improvement. In Intermediates, we continued to navigate a difficult supply-demand landscape while securing funding to enhance cost competitiveness in key markets."
Third-quarter sales were
Net loss totaled
Average diluted shares outstanding were 46 million in the third quarter, down from 51 million in the prior-year quarter following the company’s share repurchase activities over the past 12 months.
Cash flows from operating activities were
Reportable Segment Performance
To aid in the understanding of Ashland’s ongoing business performance, the results of Ashland’s reportable segments are described below on an adjusted basis. In addition, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are reconciled to operating income in Table 4. Free Cash Flow, Ongoing Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Operating Income are reconciled in Table 6 and Adjusted Income from Continuing Operations, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share Excluding Intangible Amortization Expense are reconciled in Table 7 of this news release. These adjusted results are considered non-GAAP financial measures. For a full description of the non-GAAP financial measures used, see the “Use of Non-GAAP Measures” section that further describes these adjustments below.
Life Sciences
In the third quarter, sales for the Life Sciences segment totaled
Adjusted Operating Income for the quarter was
Personal Care
Third-quarter sales for Personal Care totaled
Adjusted Operating Income was
Specialty Additives
Specialty Additives sales totaled
Adjusted Operating Income was
Intermediates
Intermediates sales totaled
Adjusted Operating Income was
Unallocated & Other
Unallocated and other expense was
Financial Outlook
Ashland is updating its full-year fiscal 2025 outlook to reflect a stable but subdued macroeconomic environment and continued caution across customer channels. Demand trends remain mixed: pharma continues to recover and show resilience, Personal Care is stable with early signs of company-specific momentum, while Specialty Additives and Intermediates remain under pressure. Ashland maintains a measured outlook, supported by innovation tracking ahead of plan, early signs of recovery in its “globalize” platforms, and the execution of high-impact self-help initiatives. These strategic levers are helping to mitigate near-term volume pressure and position the company for improved performance going forward.
Tariff-related uncertainty persists, and the company continues to monitor the evolving regulatory landscape. While long-term rules are still being finalized, Ashland does not expect a material direct impact to fiscal year 2025.
At the same time, Ashland is benefiting from an FX tailwind, while other input costs and pricing dynamics remain stable. Raw material costs are steady, and year-over-year pricing pressure is easing as the company laps prior actions. These conditions are expected to support margin performance through the fourth quarter.
Ashland continues to prioritize controllable levers. The company’s
Based on these factors, Ashland now expects full-year fiscal 2025 sales of approximately
“While the macro environment remains stable, growth remains muted and consumer sentiment cautious. We’re seeing resilience in pharma, stability in Personal Care, and early signs of recovery in Ashland-specific areas. Our completed restructuring and continued focus on operational execution are supporting strong margins and healthy cash generation. We remain committed to driving self-help initiatives, improving our cost position, and enhancing operating consistency and efficiency across the company. These actions are helping us navigate the current macro environment and position the company to finish the year with discipline and build toward improved performance in fiscal year 2026. I look forward to sharing more insight during our earnings call tomorrow morning,” Guillermo Novo concluded.
Conference Call Webcast
The company’s live webcast with securities analysts will include an executive summary and detailed remarks. The live webcast will take place at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Simultaneously, the company will post a slide presentation in the Investor Relations section of its website at http://investor.ashland.com.
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.
Following the live event, an archived version of the webcast and supporting materials will be available for 12 months on http://investor.ashland.com.
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, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EBITDA Margin provide 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, operating income, net income margin, and operating income margin. The adjustments Ashland makes to derive the non-GAAP measures of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EBITDA Margin exclude items which may cause short-term fluctuations in net income and operating income and which Ashland does not consider to be the fundamental attributes or primary drivers of its business. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin provide 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. EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are defined as EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA divided by sales for the corresponding period.
Key items, which are set forth on Table 7 of 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 reflect Ashland’s underlying business performance and trends most accurately. 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.
Tax-specific key items, which are set forth on Table 7 of this release, are defined as financial transactions, tax law changes or other matters that fall within the definition of key items as described above. These items relate solely to tax matters and would only be recorded within the income tax caption of the Statement of Consolidated Income. As with all key items, due to their nature, Ashland does not consider the financial effects of these tax-specific key items on net income to be the most accurate reflection of Ashland’s underlying business performance and trends.
The Free Cash Flow metrics enable Ashland to provide a better indication of the ongoing cash being generated that is ultimately available for both debt and equity holders as well as other investment opportunities. Unlike cash flow provided by operating activities, Free Cash Flow and Ongoing Free Cash Flow include the impact of capital expenditures from continuing operations and other significant items impacting Free Cash Flow, providing a more complete picture of current and future cash generation. Free Cash Flow, Ongoing Free Cash Flow, and Ongoing Free Cash Flow Conversion are non-GAAP liquidity measures that Ashland believes provide useful information to management and investors about Ashland’s ability to convert Adjusted EBITDA to ongoing Free Cash Flow. These liquidity measures are used regularly by Ashland’s stakeholders and industry peers to measure the efficiency at providing cash from regular business activity. Free Cash Flow, Ongoing Free Cash Flow, and Free Cash Flow Conversion have certain limitations, including that they do not reflect adjustments for certain non-discretionary cash flows such as mandatory debt repayments. The amount of mandatory versus discretionary expenditures can vary significantly between 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.
The 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.
Ashland does not quantitatively reconcile our guidance ranges for our non-GAAP measures to their most comparable GAAP measures in the Financial Outlook section of this news release. The guidance ranges for GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures reflect Ashland’s assessment of potential sources of variability in financial results and are informed by evaluation of multiple scenarios, many of which have interactive effects across several financial statement line items. Providing guidance for individual reconciling items between our non-GAAP financial measures and the comparable GAAP measures would imply a degree of precision and certainty in those reconciling items that is not a consistent reflection of our scenario-based process to prepare our guidance ranges. To the extent that a material change affecting the individual reconciling items between the company’s forward-looking non-GAAP and comparable GAAP financial measures is anticipated, the company has provided qualitative commentary in the Financial Outlook section of this news release for your consideration. However, as the impact of such factors cannot be predicted with a reasonable degree of certainty or precision, a quantitative reconciliation is not available without unreasonable effort.
About Ashland
Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) is a global additives and specialty ingredients company with a conscious and proactive mindset for environmental, social and governance (ESG). The company serves customers in a wide range of consumer and industrial markets, including architectural coatings, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care and pharmaceutical. Approximately 2,960 passionate, tenacious solvers – from renowned scientists and research chemists to talented engineers and plant operators – thrive on developing practical, innovative and elegant solutions to complex problems for customers in more than 100 countries. Visit ashland.com and ashland.com/ESG to learn more.
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 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), news releases and other written and oral communications. These forward-looking statements are based on Ashland’s expectations and assumptions, as of the date such statements are made, regarding Ashland’s future operating performance, financial, operating cash flow and liquidity, as well as the economy and other future events or circumstances. These statements include but may not be limited to statements with respect to Ashland’s anticipations and expectations regarding the financial impact of its cost reduction and manufacturing optimization initiatives; the future pricing environment; favorable absorption; the cost of raw materials; its ability to drive sustainable growth and create long-term value; its portfolio optimization initiatives and accelerated cost savings programs; its exposure to current and future tariff and global trade policies; and management’s expectations and beliefs regarding Ashland’s adjusted fiscal-year 2025 outlook.
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, cyber events and legal proceedings and claims (including product recalls, and environmental and asbestos matters); the effects of announced or future tariff increases; the effects of the ongoing Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Hamas conflicts on the geographies in which we operate, the end markets we serve and on our supply chain and customers; and, without limitation, risks and uncertainties affecting Ashland that are described in Ashland’s most recent Annual Report of Form 10-K (including Item 1A Risk Factors) filed with the SEC, which is available on Ashland’s website at http://investor.ashland.com or on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Various risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, projected or implied by any forward-looking statements. Ashland believes its expectations and assumptions are reasonable, but there can be no assurance that the expectations reflected herein will be achieved. Unless legally required, Ashland undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
1Financial results are preliminary until Ashland’s Form 10-Q is filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
2The Ongoing Free Cash Flow metric excludes the impact of inflows and outflows from U.S. and Foreign Accounts Receivable Sales Program and payments related to restructuring and environmental and litigation-related matters in both the current-year and prior-year periods.
™ Trademark, Ashland or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
| Investor Relations: | Media Relations: |
| William C. Whitaker | Carolmarie C. Brown |
| +1 (614) 790-2095 | +1 (302) 995-3158 |
| wcwhitaker@ashland.com | ccbrown@ashland.com |
Attachments
- Ashland_Q3_ 2025_Earnings_ Release_FNL_20250729
- Earnings Release Tables Q3 FY25 FNL 20250729
- Ashland_Q3_ 2025_Earnings_ Release_With_Financial_Tables_FNL_20250729
FAQ
What were Ashland's (ASH) key financial results for Q3 2025?
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How did Ashland's Life Sciences segment perform in Q3 2025?
