v3.25.2
Reportable Segment Information
 9 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2025
Segment Reporting [Abstract]  
Reportable Segment Information

NOTE Q – REPORTABLE SEGMENT INFORMATION

Ashland determines its reportable segments based on how operations are managed internally for the products and services sold to customers, including how the results are reviewed by the chief operating decision maker, which includes determining resource allocation methodologies used for reportable segments. Operating loss and EBITDA (EBITDA is defined as net income (loss), plus income tax expense (benefit), net interest and other expense (income), and depreciation and amortization) are the primary measures of performance that are reviewed by the chief operating decision maker in assessing each reportable segment's financial performance. Ashland does not aggregate segments to arrive at these reportable segments.

Reportable segment business descriptions

Life Sciences is comprised of pharmaceuticals, nutrition, agricultural chemicals, diagnostic films (formerly known as advanced materials) and fine chemicals. Pharmaceutical solutions include controlled release polymers, disintegrants, tablet coatings, thickeners, solubilizers and tablet binders. Nutrition solutions include thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers and additives for enhancing mouthfeel, controlling moisture migration, reducing oil uptake and binding structured foods. Customers include pharmaceutical, food, beverage, hospitals and radiologists and industrial manufacturers. The Nutraceutical business was sold in August 2024.

Personal Care is comprised of biofunctionals, microbial protectants (preservatives), skin care, sun care, oral care, hair care and household. These businesses have a broad range of natural, nature-derived, biodegradable, and high-performance ingredients for customer-driven solutions to help protect, renew, moisturize and revitalize skin and hair, and provide solutions for toothpastes, mouth washes and rinses, denture cleaning and care for teeth. Personal Care supplies nature-derived rheology ingredients, biodegradable surface wetting agents, performance encapsulates, and specialty polymers for household, industrial and institutional cleaning products. Customers include formulators at large multinational branded consumer products companies and smaller, independent boutique companies. The Avoca business was sold in March 2025.

Specialty Additives is comprised of rheology and performance-enhancing additives serving the architectural coatings, construction, energy, automotive and various industrial markets. Solutions include coatings additives for architectural paints, finishes and lacquers, cement and gypsum based dry mortars, ready-mixed joint compounds, synthetic plasters for commercial and residential construction, and specialty materials for industrial applications. Products include rheology modifiers (cellulosic and associative thickeners), foam control agents, surfactants and wetting agents, pH neutralizers, advanced ceramics used in catalytic converters, and environmental filters, ingredients that aid the manufacturing process of ceramic capacitors, plasma display panels and solar cells, ingredients for textile printing, thermoplastic metals and alloys for welding. Products help improve desired functional outcomes through rheology modification and control, water retention, workability, adhesive strength, binding power, film formation, deposition and suspension and emulsification. Customers include global paint manufacturers, electronics and automotive manufacturers, textile mills, the construction industry, and welders.

Intermediates is comprised of the production of 1,4 butanediol (BDO) and related derivatives, including n-methylpyrrolidone. These products are used as chemical intermediates in the production of engineering polymers and polyurethanes, and as specialty process solvents in a wide array of applications including electronics, pharmaceuticals, water filtration membranes and more. Butanediol is also supplied to Life Sciences, Personal Care, and Specialty Additives for use as a raw material.

Unallocated and other generally includes items such as certain significant company-wide restructuring activities, corporate governance costs and legacy costs or activities that relate to divested businesses that are no longer operated by Ashland.

Reportable segment results

Results of Ashland’s reportable segments are presented based on its management and internal accounting structure. The structure is specific to Ashland; therefore, the financial results of Ashland’s reportable segments are not necessarily comparable with similar information for other comparable companies. Ashland allocates all costs to its reportable segments except for certain significant company-wide restructuring activities, certain corporate governance costs and other costs or activities that relate to former businesses that Ashland no longer operates. The service cost component of pension and other postretirement benefits costs is allocated to each reportable segment on a ratable basis; while the remaining components of pension and other postretirement benefits costs are recorded within the other net periodic benefit loss caption of the Statements of Condensed Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss). Ashland refines its expense allocation methodologies to the reportable segments from time to time as internal accounting practices are improved, more refined information becomes available and the industry or market changes. Significant revisions to Ashland’s methodologies are adjusted for all reportable segments on a retrospective basis.

The following table presents various financial information for each reportable segment:

 

Three months ended

 

 

Nine months ended

 

 

June 30

 

 

June 30

 

(In millions - unaudited)

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

SALES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life Sciences

$

162

 

 

$

195

 

 

$

468

 

 

$

617

 

Personal Care

 

147

 

 

 

175

 

 

 

426

 

 

 

473

 

Specialty Additives

 

131

 

 

 

150

 

 

 

380

 

 

 

429

 

Intermediates

 

33

 

 

 

36

 

 

 

104

 

 

 

108

 

Intersegment sales(a)

 

(10

)

 

 

(12

)

 

 

(31

)

 

 

(36

)

$

463

 

 

$

544

 

 

$

1,347

 

 

$

1,591

 

OPERATING INCOME (LOSS)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life Sciences(b)

$

(343

)

 

$

43

 

 

$

(301

)

 

$

125

 

Personal Care

 

25

 

 

 

31

 

 

 

64

 

 

 

59

 

Specialty Additives(c)

 

(345

)

 

 

10

 

 

 

(343

)

 

 

(40

)

Intermediates

 

4

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

22

 

Unallocated and other(d)

 

(49

)

 

 

(151

)

 

 

(262

)

 

 

(223

)

 

$

(708

)

 

$

(61

)

 

$

(836

)

 

$

(57

)

DEPRECIATION EXPENSE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life Sciences(e)

$

17

 

 

$

9

 

 

$

48

 

 

$

29

 

Personal Care(f)

 

7

 

 

 

10

 

 

 

23

 

 

 

27

 

Specialty Additives(g)

 

34

 

 

 

20

 

 

 

60

 

 

 

97

 

Intermediates

 

3

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

9

 

 

 

9

 

 

$

61

 

 

$

42

 

 

$

140

 

 

$

162

 

AMORTIZATION EXPENSE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life Sciences

$

5

 

 

$

6

 

 

$

13

 

 

$

18

 

Personal Care

 

8

 

 

 

10

 

 

 

26

 

 

 

32

 

Specialty Additives

 

2

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

7

 

 

 

8

 

Intermediates

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

 

$

15

 

 

$

19

 

 

$

47

 

 

$

59

 

EBITDA(h)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life Sciences

$

(321

)

 

$

58

 

 

$

(240

)

 

$

172

 

Personal Care

 

40

 

 

 

51

 

 

 

113

 

 

 

118

 

Specialty Additives

 

(309

)

 

 

33

 

 

 

(276

)

 

 

65

 

Intermediates

 

7

 

 

 

9

 

 

 

16

 

 

 

32

 

Unallocated and other

 

(49

)

 

 

(151

)

 

 

(262

)

 

 

(223

)

 

$

(632

)

 

$

—

 

 

$

(649

)

 

$

164

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 30

 

 

September 30

 

(In millions - unaudited)

2025

 

 

2024

 

TOTAL ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

Life Sciences

$

1,531

 

 

$

1,778

 

Personal Care

 

699

 

 

 

950

 

Specialty Additives

 

1,048

 

 

 

1,516

 

Intermediates

 

118

 

 

 

127

 

Unallocated and other

 

1,225

 

 

 

1,274

 

 

$

4,621

 

 

$

5,645

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
(a)
Intersegment sales from Intermediates are accounted for at prices that approximate fair value. All other intersegment sales are accounted for at cost.
(b)
Includes goodwill impairment of $375 million for Life Sciences for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2025.
(c)
Includes goodwill impairment of $331 million for Specialty Additives for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2025.
(d)
Includes a $8 million gain on sale and a $183 million impairment charge related to the sale of the Avoca business for the nine months ended June 30, 2025, and a $99 million impairment charge related to the sale of the Nutraceuticals business for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2024, within the loss on acquisitions and divestitures, net caption of the Statements of Condensed Consolidated Income (Loss).
(e)
Depreciation includes accelerated depreciation of $8 million and $21 million for Life Sciences for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2025, respectively.
(f)
Depreciation includes accelerated depreciation of $1 million for Personal Care for both the three and nine months ended June 30, 2024.
(g)
Depreciation includes accelerated depreciation of $19 million for Specialty Additives for both the three and nine months ended June 30, 2025, and $7 million and $55 million for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2024, respectively.
(h)
Excludes loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes and other net periodic benefit loss. See the Statements of Condensed Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss) for applicable amounts excluded.