Preliminary fiscal 2022 third-quarter financial results
Ashland's financial results during the quarter reflected previously communicated key drivers:
- Continued strong demand from resilient end-markets;
- Lower overall exposure to petrochemical-linked raw materials;
- Disciplined pricing and product mix actions more than offset additional inflation in raw-material, freight and energy costs;
- Consistent operating performance across the company's global network of production facilities and research and development labs;
- Strong financial results despite significant foreign currency headwinds resulting from the strengthening
Sales were approximately
Ashland expects income from continuing operations during the third fiscal quarter of approximately
Ashland's Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately
The company expects that free cash flow generation will be below prior year during the third fiscal quarter due primarily to an increase in working capital levels globally as previously communicated.
Fiscal year 2022 outlook
Based on current expectations and considering external uncertainties, Ashland now expects sales in the range of
In addition, the company now expects Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of
"Ashland is focused on the visibility we have and the things we can control," said
"We are encouraged by the resilient demand in each of our segments and the operating discipline demonstrated by the entire company," continued Novo. "The Ashland team is executing well on the aspects of the business that are within our control."
"We expect underlying near-term demand to remain strong and continue to take actions to build inventories to mitigate supply-chain and shipping challenges," continued Novo. "Pricing and mix-improvement actions should cover current cost inflation and we are ready to take further action to recover any additional cost inflation. While there continues to be a great deal of global uncertainty, due to the resilient nature of our portfolio and the end markets we serve and the disciplined pricing actions enacted by our teams, we now expect sales and Adjusted EBITDA for the full fiscal year to be greater than our previously communicated outlook. I look forward to discussing our fiscal-third quarter financial results and outlook on our upcoming earnings call and webcast," concluded Novo.
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
Among those participating in the webcast presentation will be:
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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
Ashland (NYSE: ASH) is a global, consumer market-focused additives and specialty ingredients company that is responsibly solving for a better world. Through science and a conscious and proactive mindset for sustainability, we serve customers in pharmaceutical, personal care, architectural coatings, construction, energy, food, beverage, and nutraceuticals. At Ashland, we are approximately 3,800 passionate, tenacious solvers who thrive on developing practical, innovative, and elegant solutions to complex problems for customers in more than 100 countries. Visit ashland.com and ashland.com/sustainability 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
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
(TM) Trademark, Ashland or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Investor Relations:
+1 (302) 594-5010
samrozek@ashland.com
Media Relations:
+1 (302) 995-3158
ccbrown@ashland.com
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