The business behind the dividend
| Measure | ASH | Median | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -44.4% | 10.6% | Net income ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Return on capital employed | -23.6% | 10.0% | Operating income ÷ (equity + total debt) |
| Owner earnings | $-706.00m | $120.90m | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure |
| Free cash flow | $36.00m | $155.08m | Operating cash flow − capital expenditure |
| Operating margin | -42.5% | 14.3% | Operating income ÷ revenue |
| Net margin | -46.3% | 10.1% | Net income ÷ revenue |
| Debt to equity | 0.73x | 0.73x | Total debt ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Interest cover | -12.70x | 4.22x | Operating income ÷ interest expense |
| Current ratio | 2.85x | 1.55x | Current assets ÷ current liabilities |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 1.77x | 1.88x | Long-term debt ÷ (current assets − current liabilities) |
| Cash conversion | — | — | Operating cash flow ÷ net income |
| Accruals | -21.2% | -3.1% | (Net income − operating cash flow) ÷ total assets |
Not computed here: Cash conversion — why a blank is not a zero.
Ten years of it
The same measures, for every year the filings support. One year is a fact; a row is a business.
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -44.4% | 5.9% | 5.7% | 28.8% | 8.0% | -16.7% | 14.1% | 3.3% | 0.0% | -0.9% | 3.3% |
| Return on capital employed | -23.6% | -0.6% | 3.9% | 7.4% | 4.4% | -10.0% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 0.8% | -0.9% | 0.8% |
| Operating margin | -42.5% | -1.2% | 7.9% | 13.9% | 9.1% | -22.9% | 4.0% | 3.9% | 2.1% | -1.7% | 2.1% |
| Net margin | -46.3% | 8.0% | 8.1% | 38.8% | 10.4% | -25.2% | 23.5% | 4.4% | 0.0% | -1.0% | 4.4% |
| Debt to equity | 0.73x | 0.47x | 0.42x | 0.39x | 0.58x | 0.52x | 0.42x | 0.67x | 0.76x | 0.70x | 0.52x |
| Current ratio | 2.85x | 2.44x | 3.30x | 3.20x | 1.84x | 1.90x | 1.89x | 1.59x | 1.97x | 2.33x | 1.97x |
| Cash conversion | — | 2.73x | 1.65x | 0.21x | 2.12x | — | 0.28x | 2.11x | — | — | 1.65x |
How it compares in industrials
Among the 289 industrials companies here measured on free cash flow, Ashland pays out less than 7 of them. The median for that group is 24.4%, against this company’s 211.1%.
Closest on free cash flow
- Seaboard (SEB) 150.0%
- Northern Technologies International (NTIC) 165.3%
- Vestis (VSTS) 239.6%
- Boise Cascade (BCC) 272.3%
Same sector and same denominator, so the figures are comparable. All 348 in industrials →