Ashland Global Holdings Inc. recently announced preliminary financial results for the third quarter of its 2021 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2021. Sales were $637 million, up 11% compared to the prior-year period. Strong demand was partially offset by continued weakness in hand sanitizer ingredients and Avoca. Global supply chain and logistics disruptions also limited the company’s ability to meet all customer demand. Foreign currency favorably impacted sales by 3%.

“As we indicated during our earnings update on June 10, overall demand during the quarter was strong, though global supply-chain challenges continued to impact both sales and costs,” said Guillermo Novo, chairman and CEO. “Sales for our industrial businesses reached pre-pandemic levels and the demand for core consumer products demonstrated continued resilience.

“I am pleased with the progress our team has made executing our strategy, especially in the context of a difficult operating environment. The persistence of the global pandemic continues to impact consumer behavior, delaying recovery of some key global markets. In addition, challenges related to raw-material and supply-chain logistics are realities we continued to face during the quarter. We are working to capitalize on the strong demand environment and satisfy incremental demand from our customers. As such, our expectations for Ashland’s full-year results have not changed.

“Finally, I am pleased that we closed the Schülke & Mayr personal care transaction during the quarter and we welcomed our new colleagues to the Ashland team. Our well-experienced teams are working diligently to integrate the acquisition into our existing portfolio for consumer products. We are establishing a center-of-excellence at the Hamburg, Germany location, and we are excited by the opportunity to reach a broader group of customers with new technology that is crucial to our strategy of growth through sustainable innovation.”

Sales in the Industrial Specialties business segment were $263 million in the 2021 third quarter, up 28% from the prior-year quarter when pandemic-related lockdowns were in effect across much of the globe. Except for global energy markets, which remain challenged, improved demand was realized across all end markets and regions of the world. Foreign currency favorably impacted sales by 4%.

Additional details are available at www.ashland.com.