Ashland (ASH) Prelim. Q3 Results Top Consensus

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ASH) today provided an update for preliminary fiscal 2020 third-quarter financial results. Additional information regarding third-quarter fiscal earnings will be shared during a conference call webcast with securities analysts on July 29, 2020.

Preliminary fiscal 2020 third-quarter financial results

Ashland’s financial results demonstrated resiliency during the quarter, despite the global macroeconomic uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales were approximately $574 million, down 10 percent versus the prior-year period, as strength in many consumer markets was more than offset by weak industrial demand across the globe.

(*Consensus sees Q3 sales of $562.95 million on EPS of $0.57)

Ashland expects income from continuing operations during the third fiscal quarter of approximately $50 million, or approximately $0.81 per diluted share. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations are expected to be approximately $51 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, including an effective tax rate of approximately 20 percent. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations excluding intangibles amortization are expected to be approximately $68 million, or $1.12 per diluted share. Net income (including discontinued operations) is expected to be approximately $37 million. Ashland’s Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately $143 million.

“Ashland’s financial results in the third quarter demonstrate the strength of our specialty materials portfolio and the importance of the actions we are taking internally,” said Guillermo Novo, chairman and chief executive officer, Ashland. “Our priorities continue to be the health and safety of our employees and the continued supply of products to customers in the critical industries which we serve. Our consumer business units performed particularly well as we experienced significantly stronger demand for pharmaceutical excipients, biofunctional ingredients and additives for hand sanitizers. While our industrial businesses felt the impact of reduced global demand during April and May, the teams began to see signs of improving demand trends in June.”

“Our internal actions are also driving improvements to our cost structure and profitability,” continued Novo. “The combined benefit of cost reductions, improved product mix and lower raw-material costs yielded Adjusted EBITDA growth of 2 percent during the quarter. Our cost-reduction plans for the year remain on track, and we plan to take $20 million to $30 million of the previously-disclosed inventory-control actions during the fiscal-fourth quarter. I am confident that these continued internal actions mean we are well positioned for the upcoming fiscal year. I look forward to discussing our results in more detail on the upcoming call with securities analysts.”

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 third-quarter earnings release at approximately 5 p.m. ET on July 28, 2020. The company’s live webcast with securities analysts will include an executive summary and detailed remarks. The live webcast will take place at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Simultaneously, the company will post a slide presentation in the Investor Relations section of its website at http://investor.ashland.com.

Among those participating in the webcast presentation will be:

• Guillermo Novo, chairman and chief executive officer;
• Kevin Willis, senior vice president and chief financial officer; and
• Seth Mrozek, director of investor relations.

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.

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