Ashland Issues Update For Prelim. Q2 Results; Portfolio Performs Well During Q2

(RTTNews) - Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (ASH) said it expects second-quarter adjusted earnings from continuing operations to be approximately $52 million, or $0.84 per share, including an effective tax rate of approximately 18 percent. The company expects a loss from continuing operations of approximately $580 million, or approximately $9.56 per share, driven primarily by a goodwill impairment charge.

Preliminary second-quarter sales were approximately $610 million, down 9 percent from prior year.

At the end of the second fiscal quarter, available liquidity was over $1 billion including approximately $350 million of cash-on-hand, revolver availability and other long-term investments. As of March 31, net debt was $1.7 billion.

Ashland plans to maintain dividend of at least $0.275 per share per quarter. The company does not plan on utilizing the share repurchase authorization in the present financial environment.