Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Commenting on Ashland's outlook, O'Brien said, "Our short-term focus continues to be on generating cash and paying down debt. It appears that demand could remain flat for the foreseeable future due to global macroeconomic dynamics. We will continue to manage our pricing, reduce our costs, and apply the cash we generate to reduce debt from our current 2.4 times debt-to-EBITDA level to our targeted ratio of 2.0 times. We continue to resize our businesses to match current economic conditions and to create a leverageable cost structure that will support increased profitability and growth when the economy improves."

Source: PR Newswire (July 24, 2009)

Commenting on Ashland's outlook, O'Brien said, 'Our focus continues to be on generating cash and paying down debt. It appears that demand could remain flat for the remainder of the year due to global macroeconomic dynamics. We expect to navigate this economic downturn and create value for our stakeholders by effectively managing our pricing, aggressively reducing our costs, and applying the cash we generate to reducing debt. We continue to resize our businesses to match current economic conditions and to better position the company for improved profitability and growth when the economy turns.'

Source: GlobeNewswire (April 13, 2009)

Guidance Report:

Commenting on the outlook for the near term, O'Brien said, "We expect all of our businesses to continue to be challenged to varying degrees by the current global recession. The current economic environment reinforces the importance of owning businesses with more stable earnings during the down part of the cycle. We would expect declining raw material costs and continuing cost-reduction actions in our organization to benefit our results in the second quarter, although volume declines and selling price decreases will likely temper the benefits."

Source: PR Newswire (January 27, 2009)