Ashland Inc. (ASH): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at Ashland Inc. after a major portfolio overhaul, and honestly, the numbers from fiscal year 2025 tell a dual story: while the headline shows a tough year with an $845 million net loss from non-cash write-downs, the underlying specialty ingredients business is humming, pulling in between $400 million and $410 million in Adjusted EBITDA on $1.824 billion in sales. My two decades in this game tell me to ignore the one-time noise and focus on the engine, which is clearly the high-margin Life Sciences segment hitting a 32% EBITDA margin, so we need to see exactly how they structure their key activities and resources to keep that momentum going, especially while executing that $60 million manufacturing optimization program. Dive into the nine blocks below to see the precise map of how Ashland Inc. is turning proprietary technology into premium pricing for customers who demand Efficacy and Integrity.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at how Ashland Inc. structures its external relationships to drive its specialty additives and ingredients business, which is a critical part of its overall strategy as of late 2025. These alliances are about securing supply, reaching customers, and fueling the innovation pipeline.

Strategic Distributors

Distribution partners are essential for market reach, especially in consumer-focused segments. Ashland Inc. made a significant move in this area in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025.

• Appointed Tilley Distribution as the new exclusive distribution partner for Ashland food and beverage ingredients in the United States, effective October 6, 2025.
• Tilley Distribution now represents Ashland's cellulosic hydrocolloids for all food, beverage, and nutraceutical customers across the U.S.

This move helps Ashland focus its internal resources on core manufacturing and high-value segments, like Life Sciences, where they are seeing momentum in pharma excipients and tablet coatings. Honestly, relying on a focused partner like Tilley for a specific segment simplifies the go-to-market strategy.

Open Innovation with Academic Institutions and Emerging Start-ups

Ashland Inc. actively seeks external ideas to enrich its technology portfolio. This is formalized under their 'open innovation - solving with Ashland' framework.

• Ashland welcomes partnerships with industry leaders, academic institutions, and emerging start-ups to share innovative ideas.
• The company showcased its progress in innovation, including its scalable technology platforms, at the Innovation Day hosted at its Bridgewater, New Jersey facility on May 29, 2025.
• Digital innovation, including the use of molecular simulation and predictive data models with Artificial Intelligence, is core to their R&D strategy, which benefits from external collaboration.

The company employs approximately 3,200 passionate, tenacious solvers as of March 2025, but external partnerships are key to accelerating new technology platforms.

Co-development Collaborations with Major End-User Customers (Implied)

While specific customer names aren't always public, the strategy points to deep, collaborative relationships, especially in high-value areas. Ashland's focus on its 'globalize' strategy implies working closely with key customers to scale successful lines.

• The 'globalize' strategy involves accelerating growth across high-quality businesses, including investments in injectables in Ireland and the U.S., and tablet coatings in Brazil.
• Innovation is being driven to enrich the technology portfolio, with goals to generate $20 million in incremental sales by scaling these high-quality business lines across regions and customers as part of their self-help initiatives.

These efforts are designed to move Ashland beyond just supplying ingredients to being a co-creator of solutions, which is defintely how you secure long-term contracts in pharma and personal care.

Key Suppliers for Specialized Raw Materials and Chemical Feedstocks

Managing the supply chain is crucial, especially given global trade uncertainties. Ashland Inc. has taken steps to localize sourcing to mitigate risk.

Here's a quick look at the financial context surrounding raw material management for fiscal year 2025:

Metric	Value / Range (FY 2025)
Estimated Tariff Impact (2H FY25)	$3 million to $5 million
Estimated Annual Tariff Impact (Post-Mitigation)	$5 million to $7 million
Raw Material Cost Trend	Generally stable year-over-year
Total Fiscal 2025 Sales Outlook	$1.825 billion to $1.850 billion
Total Fiscal 2025 Adjusted EBITDA Outlook	$400 million to $410 million

Ashland Inc. reports having limited direct exposure to US or China tariffs on raw materials because of its localized sourcing strategy. Still, the company actively monitors the evolving regulatory landscape and executes mitigation plans across sourcing, production, and logistics. They are confident that steady raw material costs and supply chains will function well heading into 2026.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core actions Ashland Inc. (ASH) is taking to reshape its operations and financial profile as of late 2025. These activities are all about streamlining the manufacturing base and sharpening the portfolio focus.

Specialty ingredients manufacturing and global supply chain management

Ashland Inc. operates as a global additives and specialty ingredients company, serving customers in over 100 countries. As of the end of fiscal year 2025, the company had approximately 2,960 employees dedicated to developing practical, innovative solutions.

The manufacturing footprint is being consolidated to build scale for core technologies. For instance, the newly consolidated Hydroxyethyl Cellulose (HEC) network now supports demand with production capacity located in the United States, Europe, and China. The fiscal year 2025 sales finished at $1.824 billion, a 14% decrease year-over-year, with the full-year Adjusted EBITDA outlook narrowed to the range of $400 million to $410 million.

• Global footprint serving over 100 countries.
• Approximately 2,960 employees globally.
• FY 2025 Sales: $1.824 billion.

Executing the $60 million manufacturing network optimization program

This program is a central part of Ashland Inc.'s execute strategy, aimed at enhancing operational consistency and profitability. As of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the $60 million initiative is described as 'well advanced' with 'most plant actions' complete. The timing of realizing the full cost benefits has shifted due to factors like delayed flow-through and elevated inventory levels needed for supply continuity during transitions.

Specific actions included the closure of the Parlin, New Jersey facility, transferring its Hydroxyethyl Cellulose (HEC) production to the Hopewell, Virginia plant, which received increased investments to expand capacity. Also, the Chatham, New Jersey plant closed, shifting microbial protection production to Freetown, Massachusetts. The company is also looking to drive productivity savings above the initial $60 million target.

Optimization Initiative Component	Action Taken	Related Financial Target/Impact
Manufacturing Network Optimization	Transfer of HEC production from Parlin, NJ to Hopewell, VA.	Targeting $60 million in cost savings.
Manufacturing Network Optimization	Closure of Chatham, NJ plant; transfer of microbial protection to Freetown, MA.	Savings realization timing shifted due to inventory management.
Restructuring Program	Implementation of a separate program.	Achieved approximately $30 million in cost savings.
Q3 FY2025 Impact	Progress on optimization efforts.	Expected to generate approximately $7.5 million in savings in Q4 FY2025.

Research and development (R&D) of new sustainable ingredient platforms

Ashland Inc. is focused on innovation as a growth catalyst. The company reports that innovation tracking is ahead of plan, enriching the technology portfolio and capabilities. This includes an asset repurpose strategy to efficiently scale innovation across its platforms. The company is accelerating growth across several high-quality businesses through globalization and innovation.

• Innovation tracking is reported as being ahead of plan.
• Asset repurpose strategy used to efficiently scale innovation.
• Focus on accelerating growth across high-quality business lines.

Portfolio optimization via divestitures of non-core, low-margin assets

The company has been actively optimizing its portfolio, which involved the curtailment or divestiture of lower-margin products, including the previously announced carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), methylcellulose (MC), Nutraceuticals, and Avoca portfolio optimization initiatives. This activity was completed in fiscal 2025 with the sale of the Avoca business.

The impact of these actions on recent financial results is clear. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Portfolio Optimization reduced sales by about $38 million, which is 7% year-over-year. This optimization also lowered Adjusted EBITDA by about $11 million in the same quarter. In the third quarter, the impact was a sales reduction of approximately $53 million, or 10%, and a $13 million decline in Adjusted EBITDA.

Portfolio Optimization Impact (Q4 FY2025)	Amount	Percentage
Sales Reduction	$38 million	7% vs. prior year
Adjusted EBITDA Decline	$11 million	Not specified as percentage of total EBITDA

A concrete financial inflow resulted from these divestitures. Subsequent to the fiscal year-end, Ashland received approximately $103 million in October as a tax refund related to the capital loss carryback from the Nutraceuticals divestiture. The Life Sciences segment saw a 17% sales decrease in Q3, with Portfolio Optimization accounting for approximately $32 million, or 16%, of that decline.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets Ashland Inc. (ASH) relies on to deliver its specialty ingredients and additives. These aren't just line items; they are the engines driving their differentiated performance in markets like pharma and personal care.

Proprietary Technology Platforms and Innovation Pipeline

Ashland Inc. (ASH) centers its competitive edge on scalable, proprietary technology platforms. These platforms allow for the creation of new-to-the-world, patented technologies that can be precisely calibrated for specific customer needs and regulatory environments. The company showcased the expanded applications of these platforms at its Innovation Day on May 29, 2025.

Key technology areas and related statistics include:

• Introduced seven new platform technologies aligned to core business in 2023.
• Launched innovations from its Transformed Vegetable Oils and Super Wetters platforms.
• More than 80 percent of the portfolio is natural, nature-derived, inherently biodegradable under OECD methods, or sustainable in-use.
• Increasing R&D investment by $4 million to accelerate innovation for fiscal 2026.

Global Manufacturing Network and Footprint Expansion

The physical network is strategically optimized to support globalized platforms and regionalized production. This includes significant recent capital deployment to enhance specific capabilities.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) has been actively optimizing its manufacturing footprint, which includes a $60 million manufacturing network optimization plan. A concrete example of this globalization strategy is the recent expansion in Latin America.

Location	Investment/Status	Focus Area(s)
Cabreúva, Brazil	Completed $10 million expansion	Pharmaceutical manufacturing, film coating systems for pharmaceuticals
São Paulo, Brazil	Modernization of equipment at Technical Center R&D lab	Microbial protection for personal care applications
Mullingar, Ireland	Previous investment to expand facility	Bioresorbable polymers
Shanghai, China	Previous investment in R&D lab	Biofunctionals actives
India	In the process of building a plant	Tablet coating

The demand driving the Brazil investment is clear: consumption of coated tablets in Brazil grew at 5.7 percent per year on average between 2019 and 2023.

Intellectual Property (IP) and Specialized Formulations

The value of Ashland Inc. (ASH) is heavily tied to its intangible assets, specifically its IP portfolio which underpins its high-value specialty ingredients. The R&D advancements translate directly into specialized chemical formulations that serve specific customer needs.

These specialized formulations and IP capabilities enable solutions such as:

• Ultra-high solids coatings.
• Moisture protection.
• Odor and flavor masking.
• Modified release systems.

The Life Sciences segment, which derives maximum revenue, leverages IP for products like controlled release polymers, disintegrants, tablet coatings, and tablet binders.

Human Capital: Specialized Scientists and Engineers

The company relies on a dedicated technical workforce to develop and scale these complex solutions. Ashland Inc. (ASH) refers to its employees as passionate, tenacious solvers.

The scale of this specialized team is reported as:

Approximately 2,960 to 3,200 passionate, tenacious solvers, including renowned scientists, research chemists, and talented engineers.

This human capital supports the entire operation, which for fiscal 2025 has an expected sales range of $1.90 billion to $2.05 billion and an adjusted EBITDA projection between $430-$470 million. The Q4 fiscal 2025 adjusted EBITDA margin reached 24.9%.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at the core value Ashland Inc. (ASH) delivers across its specialized markets right now, late in fiscal year 2025. The numbers tell a story of focus amidst market softness, with total fiscal-year 2025 sales landing at $1.824 billion, down 14%. Still, the focus on high-value segments is clear.

Efficacy: Amplifying performance of customer products (e.g., high-value excipients)

The value here is in enabling complex formulations, particularly in Life Sciences. For example, in the third quarter of 2025, the Life Sciences segment generated $162 million in sales, contributing $54 million in adjusted EBITDA. This segment saw stability in pharma, driven by high-value cellulosic excipients. The broader global pharmaceutical excipients market is valued at approximately $10.8 billion in 2025. Solid dosage forms, where Ashland's products are key, command an estimated market share of around 68.0% in 2025.

Here's a look at the segment performance as of late 2025:

Segment	Q3 2025 Sales (Millions USD)	Q3 2025 Adj. EBITDA (Millions USD)	Market Context (2025)
Life Sciences	$162 million	$54 million	North America Excipients Market Share: 40.7%
Personal Care	$147 million	$41 million	Personal Care Products Market Size: $535.18 billion
Specialty Additives	$131 million	$26 million	Q4 Adjusted EBITDA Margin: 25%

Integrity: Ensuring product quality and regulatory compliance, especially in Life Sciences

Product integrity translates directly into regulatory assurance for customers. Ashland supported this by expanding its pharmaceutical excipient portfolio in November 2025 with a new line of cellulose-based polymers tailored for injectable and biologic formulations. This focus on advanced functionalities helps customers meet stringent requirements for next-generation drugs. The Life Sciences segment achieved an Adjusted EBITDA margin of over 30% in fiscal year 2025, showing margin strength in this high-integrity area.

Allure/Usability: Improving the aesthetic and application of Personal Care products

In Personal Care, the value proposition centers on aesthetics and application performance. The Personal Care segment showed growth, with Q1 fiscal 2025 sales increasing by 4% year-over-year. This aligns with the broader trend where 74% of consumers prioritize organic ingredients in personal care, as of a March 2025 study. The global Personal Care Ingredients Market is projected to reach $13.9 billion by 2025.

Key drivers in this segment include:

• Emulsifiers leading with a 25% share in the ingredients market.
• Skin care accounting for 33.91% of revenue share in 2024.
• Premium products projected to grow at a 7.44% CAGR to 2030.

Sustainable and bio-based ingredients to meet customer ESG goals

Ashland Inc. has set specific targets to address environmental impact across its value chain. You need to watch these metrics as they directly impact customer sourcing decisions.

Ashland's stated sustainability targets include:

• Reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50.4% from 2022 to 2032.
• Reduce Scope 3 emissions by 50.4% from 2022 to 2032.
• Achieve 25% renewable energy usage by 2025.
• Ensure 100% of new product launches are naturals, nature-derived or biodegradable synthetics by 2025.
• Ensure >90% of natural or nature-derived ingredients are based on sustainably sourced raw materials by 2025.

To be fair, the company's net impact ratio, as measured by The Upright Project, was reported at -67.9%, with GHG emissions being a primary area of negative impact.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how Ashland Inc. manages its connections with customers, especially in late 2025, which is all about targeted support and digital efficiency. This is critical because the company is focused on high-value markets like Life Sciences.

Dedicated technical support and co-creation for custom formulations.

Ashland Inc. embeds its technical expertise directly into the customer interaction, particularly for specialized needs. This is evident through the digital connection points where customers can reach technical personnel. For instance, the iSolve℠ customer portal provides a direct connection to Ashland expert solvers across various business units, including Specialty Additives and Crop Care. This structure supports co-creation by giving formulation teams immediate access to technical and marketing information needed for custom work.

Digital self-service via the iSolve℠ customer portal for on-demand information.

The rollout of the iSolve℠ portal across key segments solidifies the digital self-service channel. Ashland launched the portal for Specialty Additives customers in September 2025 and for Crop Care customers in March 2025. This digital platform is designed to provide instant access to robust material, which is a key part of the customer experience strategy. The portal allows for quick sample requests and downloads of important regulatory documents, helping customers move faster.

Here's a look at what the digital self-service portal offers:

• Simple, comprehensive search access to product information.
• Display and download of important regulatory documents.
• Access to technical, marketing, and formulation information.
• Ability to enter sample requests quickly.

High-touch, relationship-based sales for large, strategic accounts.

For strategic, high-value areas, the relationship remains personal and high-touch. The Life Sciences segment, which includes Pharma, remains resilient, driven by demand for high-value excipients, tablet coatings, and injectables. This focus area delivered a full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 30 percent. The segment's Q4 fiscal 2025 sales totaled $173 million. This performance in a core area suggests that large, strategic accounts receive dedicated, relationship-based attention to maintain that growth momentum.

Focus on 'ease of doing business' (a core Life Sciences strategy).

The commitment to making business easier is explicitly called out as a critical Life Sciences strategy. This focus translates into operational improvements that benefit the customer experience. The rollout of the iSolve™ pharma customer portal was directly linked to this focus on customer relationships. Ashland Inc. serves customers in over 100 countries, employing approximately 2,900 passionate solvers as of late 2025. Simplifying interactions through digital tools helps manage this global footprint effectively.

The digital and high-touch approaches work together, as seen in the capabilities provided:

Customer Relationship Element	Supporting Data Point	Applicable Segment/Date
Digital Self-Service Access	iSolve℠ launched for Specialty Additives	September 2025
High-Touch Support	Connection to Ashland expert solvers	Standard Portal Feature
Strategic Segment Performance	Life Sciences Adjusted EBITDA Margin	30 percent (FY 2025)
Digital Self-Service Access	iSolve℠ launched for Crop Care	March 2025

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how Ashland Inc. (ASH) gets its specialty additives and ingredients into the hands of its customers across the globe. It's a multi-pronged approach, balancing direct relationships with strategic third-party reach, all supported by a global operational backbone.

The company serves customers in more than 100 countries. For fiscal year 2025, Ashland expects total sales to fall within the range of $1.90 billion to $2.05 billion.

Direct global sales force to major pharmaceutical and personal care OEMs

Ashland Inc. maintains a direct sales presence to target major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in its core, high-value markets like pharmaceuticals and personal care. This direct channel is crucial for managing complex, high-volume, or highly technical product lines where deep collaboration is needed. For instance, in Q2 2025, the company reported quarterly sales of $463.0 million. The direct sales force is staffed by approximately 2,960 employees, described as passionate, tenacious solvers, who support these critical customer relationships.

Third-party distributors for regional market penetration (e.g., Tilley)

To ensure deep penetration in specific regional or vertical markets, Ashland relies on established third-party distribution partners. This strategy helps manage the long tail of smaller customers or provides specialized local expertise. A concrete example of this channel in action is the appointment of Tilley Distribution as the new exclusive distribution partner for Ashland's food and beverage ingredients in the United States, announced on October 6, 2025. Tilley now represents Ashland's cellulosic hydrocolloids, including aqualon™ CMC, benecel™ MC, and aerowhip™ HPC, to food, beverage, and nutraceutical customers across the U.S.

Global manufacturing and distribution centers in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific

The physical movement of product relies on a network of manufacturing and lab facilities strategically placed to serve global demand. This infrastructure supports the direct sales force and distributors alike. While the structure evolves, the established footprint includes key operational hubs across the major economic regions. Here's a look at the locations cited for the Specialty Additives segment, which represented 39% of Ashland's total consolidated sales in fiscal 2021, giving you a sense of the scale of the physical network:

Region	Specific Locations Mentioned
North America	Huntsville, Alabama; Parlin, New Jersey; Hopewell, Virginia
Europe	Doel-Beveren, Belgium; Alizay, France; Dusseldorf, Germany; Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands; Bradford and Newton Aycliffe, United Kingdom
Asia Pacific	Nanjing, China; Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India

These facilities support the company's operations across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Online digital platforms for product data and technical literature (iSolve℠)

To enhance efficiency and customer engagement, Ashland uses dedicated digital channels to deliver essential product and regulatory information on demand. This reduces the load on the direct sales force for routine inquiries. You have two key portals here:

• iSolve℠ customer portal for specialty additives: Launched in September 2025, this portal gives customers instant access to product information, regulatory documents for download, technical/marketing information, and allows for quick sample requests.

• iSolve℠ information on demand for food and beverage: Launched in February 2024, this portal serves the Life Sciences segment, allowing customers to search by product name, market segment, application, or function.

The goal of these platforms is to allow Ashland expert solvers to respond to requests more efficiently. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the core customer groups Ashland Inc. (ASH) serves as of late 2025, which is a mix of high-margin consumer-facing markets and more cyclical industrial applications.

The company's strategy emphasizes its focus on consumer-facing end markets, with 85% of the portfolio serving these areas following portfolio optimization actions, including the divestiture of the Nutraceuticals business and the Avoca sale.

Here's a breakdown of the key customer segments based on the latest reported segment performance for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 (Q4 2025) and full-year 2025 figures:

• Global Pharmaceutical companies (Life Sciences segment).
• Personal Care and Home Care manufacturers (e.g., skin/hair care).
• Architectural Coatings and Construction material producers (part of Specialty Additives).
• Crop Care, Energy, and other Industrial application customers (part of Specialty Additives and Intermediates).

The Life Sciences segment, serving global pharmaceutical companies, continues to be a margin leader, delivering an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 31.8% in Q4 2025, and achieving over 30% for the full fiscal year 2025. This strength is driven by continued momentum in cellulosic excipients, tablet coatings, and injectables.

The Personal Care segment also shows resilience, with Q4 2025 Adjusted EBITDA reaching $55 million on sales of $151 million, yielding a 32% margin for that quarter. This segment saw a 4% year-over-year sales increase in Q1 2025, showing strong demand across end markets and regions.

The remaining industrial and specialty customers are grouped within Specialty Additives and Intermediates. Specialty Additives, which includes Architectural Coatings and Construction materials, posted Q4 2025 sales of $131 million and an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 22.1%, though this segment faced softness in China and North America.

The Intermediates segment, which touches Energy and other industrial applications, experienced trough-like conditions, with Q4 2025 sales at $33 million and the lowest margin profile at 15.2%.

Here's a quick look at the Q4 2025 segment revenue and profitability:

Customer Segment Group	Ashland Segment	Q4 2025 Sales (Millions USD)	Q4 2025 Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	Q4 2025 Adjusted EBITDA (Millions USD)
Global Pharmaceutical companies	Life Sciences	$173	31.8	$55
Personal Care and Home Care manufacturers	Personal Care	$151	32	$55
Architectural Coatings and Construction material producers	Specialty Additives	$131	22.1	$29
Crop Care, Energy, and other Industrial applications	Intermediates	$33	15.2	$5

Overall, Ashland's consolidated sales for the full fiscal year 2025 were $1.824 billion, with an Adjusted EBITDA of $119 million and a consolidated margin of 25% in the fourth quarter alone.

Ashland serves customers in more than 100 countries globally. Key customers also include general industrial manufacturers, plastics and polymers producers, agricultural firms, and producers of electronic components and systems.

The company is targeting fiscal year 2026 sales between $1.835 billion and $1.905 billion, with Adjusted EBITDA targeted between $400 million and $430 million, showing management's expectation for growth to return to the Life Sciences and Personal Care platforms.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the core expenses that keep Ashland Inc.'s complex chemical operations running, which is a mix of fixed overhead, heavy capital deployment, and ongoing efficiency drives. Honestly, for a specialty chemical company, the cost structure is dominated by a few major buckets.

Raw material procurement and energy costs for chemical manufacturing.

The cost of goods sold (COGS), which heavily includes raw materials and energy, is a primary driver. While specific raw material spend isn't broken out, management noted in late 2024 that their outlook for fiscal year 2025 included assumptions for a generally stable raw material environment. Energy costs are embedded within production expenses, which saw unfavorable impacts in Q1 2025 that were later offset by cost savings realization in Q4 2025.

Significant investment in R&D and specialized technical labor.

Investment in innovation is a constant, requiring specialized technical labor. Research and Development (R&D) expenses fluctuate based on project load. For example, the Research and Development Expense was reported at $13.00M for the quarter ending June 30, 2025. Selling, Administrative, Research and Development (SARD) expenses saw an increase in Q1 2025, primarily due to the reset of variable compensation expenses, but later decreased in Q4 2025 as restructuring actions were realized.

Manufacturing optimization costs, targeting $60 million in savings.

Ashland Inc. has been aggressively pursuing operational efficiencies through its manufacturing network optimization plan, which targets total pre-tax savings of $60 million once fully achieved. Progress in fiscal year 2025 included the completion of the Hydroxyethyl Cellulose (HEC) network optimization. The expected savings under current conditions were projected to be $50 million to $55 million, with $5 million realized in the year ending late 2025 and $18 million projected for the following year. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 saw $5 million in savings realized from this manufacturing optimization effort.

Restructuring costs, with $30 million in savings realized in FY2025.

The company completed its $30 million restructuring plan, which was initiated to offset stranded costs from portfolio optimization actions. The plan targeted a 50 percent realization in fiscal year 2025. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, approximately $20 million in restructuring savings were realized, helping to offset other headwinds to Adjusted EBITDA.

High depreciation and amortization from past acquisitions and assets.

Depreciation and Amortization (D&A) represents a significant non-cash cost, often reflecting past capital expenditures and acquisitions. Total Depreciation and Amortization Expense was reported around $274.0M for a recent period. Specific non-routine charges, like accelerated depreciation expense related to Life Sciences assets, amounted to $13 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

Here's a quick look at some of the key cost-related metrics we've seen:

• Manufacturing Optimization Target: $60 million
• Restructuring Plan Size: $30 million
• Total Depreciation and Amortization Expense: $274.0M
• Q2 2025 R&D Expense: $13.00M
• Restructuring Savings Realized in Q4 2025: Approximately $20 million

To put these cost drivers in context against the overall cost base, here is a snapshot of related financial figures:

Financial Metric (Period)	Amount (Millions USD)	Context
Total Depreciation and Amortization Expense (Recent)	$274.0M	Total non-cash charge from assets.
Restructuring Savings Realized (Q4 FY2025)	Approx. $20 million	Partial realization from the $30M plan.
Manufacturing Optimization Savings Realized (FY2025 Year-to-Date)	$5 million	Savings realized within the fiscal year.
Manufacturing Optimization Savings Projected (Next Year)	$18 million	Projection for the following fiscal year.
Accelerated Depreciation - Life Sciences (Q1 2025)	$13 million	Specific non-cash charge for the quarter.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the core ways Ashland Inc. brings in money as they finalize their portfolio transformation. The primary engine remains the Sales of specialty ingredients and additives to Life Sciences, which was the largest contributor to revenue streams. Full-year fiscal 2025 sales totaled $1.824 billion.

The Life Sciences segment, which includes pharma applications, delivered a strong performance, achieving an Adjusted EBITDA margin that surpassed 30% for the full year. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, this segment posted sales of $162 million and an Adjusted EBITDA of $54 million.

Next up is the Sales of high-margin Personal Care ingredients. This area showed resilience. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Personal Care achieved an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 28.5%. The segment's Q3 2025 sales were $147 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA of $41 million.

Revenue also comes from Fees for technical services and custom formulation solutions, embedded within the segment reporting, particularly in Life Sciences, supporting the high-margin ingredient sales. Anyway, here's a quick look at the top-line and profitability numbers for the full fiscal year 2025.

Financial Metric	Amount/Value
Total Full-Year Fiscal 2025 Sales	$1.824 billion
Full-Year Fiscal 2025 Adjusted EBITDA (Reported)	$401 million
Full-Year Fiscal 2025 Adjusted EBITDA (Guidance Range)	$400 million to $410 million
FY2025 Net Loss (GAAP)	$845 million

What this estimate hides is the $845 million net loss in FY2025 due to non-cash impairments, showing the transition is still financially noisy. The core business, though, is generating an Adjusted EBITDA of around $400 million to $410 million, which is the real number to watch.

The revenue streams are segmented by end-market focus:

• Life Sciences: Largest contributor, pharma stability noted.
• Personal Care: High-margin ingredients, resilient performance.
• Specialty Additives: Faced softness in certain markets.
• Intermediates: Pricing remained challenged near a cyclical low.

The non-cash impairments driving the net loss included $706 million in goodwill impairment and $175 million from the sale of the Avoca business line. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.