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Ashland outlined its three-year growth strategy at a conference for analysts and investors in New York, USA, on November 15. The company’s senior management team also shared several key financial targets, including sales and earnings per share, for fiscal 2014.
"Ashland today is a fundamentally different company than we were several years ago,” said James J O’Brien, Ashland chairman and CEO. "Since 2004, we have completely transformed our business portfolio by divesting most of our cyclical businesses and focusing on higher-margin, faster-growing segments comprising speciality ingredients, water technologies, performance materials and consumer markets. With Ashland’s transformation now complete, we are focused on driving top-line growth and earnings expansion through organic volume growth, margin expansion, cost efficiencies and strategic capital allocation.”
Among the financial targets the company has established for fiscal 2014: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$1.7bn up from a pro forma US$1.2bn y-on-y; EBITDA margin of 17-18%, up from pro forma 14.2% y-on-y; estimated earnings per share from continuing operations in the US$9.50 – US$10.50 range, up from adjusted earnings per share of US$3.902 y-on-y; and annual capital expenditures of approximately US$350M, up from US$201M y-on-y.
