Ashland Beats Earnings Forecast and Expands Board After Ancora Agreement

Ashland Inc. reported quarterly earnings of $1.02 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.98. The company also announced a modest dividend increase to $0.42 per share, yielding about 2.5% annually. Shares rose about 2% after the release, trading near $67.80.

In a separate development, Ashland entered a cooperation agreement with major shareholder Ancora Holdings Group. Under the deal, the board temporarily expanded to 11 members with the appointment of Peter Thomas, former CEO of Ferro Corporation, and Allen Spizzo, former CFO of Hercules Incorporated, as independent directors. A new Capital Allocation Advisory Committee, chaired by director Scott Tozier and including CEO Guillermo Novo as a non‑voting member, was also created to advise on strategy and capital deployment. The board will revert to ten members at the 2027 annual meeting.