Ashland Q2 Profit Tops Estimate; Revenue Falls Short

(RTTNews) - Ashland Inc. (ASH) reported net income for the second quarter of $224 million or $3.26 per share, compared to a net loss of $44 million or $0.57 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Income from continuing operations for the second quarter was $95 million or $1.39 per share, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $61 million or $0.78 per share in the prior year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted income from continuing operations for the latest quarter was $138 million or $2.03 per share.

Sales for the second quarter fell 13% to $1.35 billion from $1.55 billion a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.74 per share on revenue of $1.42 billion for the second quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Te company also said that its board of directors has approved a new $1 billion share repurchase authorization.